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Kuku Kohli Dies At 77: Aruna Irani’s Husband & Filmmaker Who Gave Ajay Devgn His Bollywood Break Passes Away Of Heart Attack
Kuku Kohli, the filmmaker best known for directing Ajay Devgn's debut film Phool Aur Kaante, died at a Mumbai hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was 77. His brother-in-law Balraj Irani and close friend Ashoke Pandit confirmed the news, with funeral arrangements set for Thursday in Mumbai.
Kuku Kohli, Filmmaker Who Launched Ajay Devgn, Dies at 77
Kuku Kohli, the veteran filmmaker known for directing Ajay Devgn's breakout film Phool Aur Kaante, passed away at the age of 77 in Mumbai after suffering a massive cardiac arrest.
Kohli was admitted to Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital after feeling unwell. His brother-in-law, Balraj Irani, told India Today that Kohli had a blockage and a stent fitted the day before his death. "He was absolutely fine and then today evening he suffered a massive heart attack. He was talking to us and just collapsed," Irani said.
His wife, veteran actor Aruna Irani, was on the phone with him when he suffered the cardiac arrest. Her spokesperson told ETimes that the couple was exchanging messages, and Kohli had said, "Let's not go overboard." Moments later, he stopped responding.
A Career in Hindi Cinema
Born Avtar Kohli in Peshawar on June 4, 1949, Kohli spent more than three decades in Hindi cinema as a director, writer and editor. Early in his career, he worked closely with Raj Kapoor, assisting on films including Bobby, Prem Rog and Satyam Shivam Sundaram. He later served as second-unit director on Betaab and worked on Arjun.
Kohli's breakthrough came in 1991 with Phool Aur Kaante, which launched Ajay Devgn and became a major box-office success. He went on to direct a string of commercially successful films, including Suhaag, Haqeeqat, Zulmi, Anari No. 1, Yeh Dil Aashiqanaa and Woh Tera Naam Tha.
"My heart is breaking as I announce the passing of filmmaker Kuku Kohli. Today I have lost a great friend and the film industry has lost a fine filmmaker," said filmmaker Ashoke Pandit, a close friend, in a statement. Pandit added that Kohli had no known illness and that his death came as a shock.
Family and Legacy
Kohli married actor Aruna Irani in 1990. It was his second marriage; he had two daughters, Pooja and Karishma, from his first marriage to Rita Kohli. Karishma worked as an assistant director on Betaab and later co-directed the Netflix series The Fame Game.
His last rites will be held Thursday at the Oshiwara crematorium in Mumbai. Kohli's passing marks the end of an era in Hindi cinema's commercial filmmaking, remembered for his collaborations with leading stars of the 1990s.
This article is based on reports from The Free Press Journal, India Today and The Times of India.
How each outlet told it
Free Press Journal
Framing: Emphasizes his death and his role as Aruna Irani’s husband and the director who launched Ajay Devgn. It leaves out the specific hospital and the brother-in-law’s account, but includes the 1991 debut angle. — Sympathetic and mournful, especially through Pandit's quotes: "My heart is breaking" and "a great loss to the film fraternity."
Facts Included:
Kuku Kohli died at age 77 in Kokilaben Ambani Hospital, Mumbai.
He was best known for giving Ajay Devgn his Bollywood break with Phool Aur Kaante (1991).
Confirmation of death by close friend and fellow filmmaker Ashoke Pandit via a heartfelt Instagram note.
Pandit said: "My heart is breaking as I announce the passing of filmmaker Kuku Kohli. Today, I have lost a great friend and a great filmmaker."
Pandit revealed to HT City that Kohli had no known illness and died of a massive heart attack, saying, "He had no illness, it was a massive heart attack."
Pandit confirmed Kohli was serving as General Secretary of IFTDA.
Survived by wife Aruna Irani and two daughters, Pooja and Karishma, from his first marriage to Rita Kohli.
Details of last darshan at Green Acres, Lokhandwala at 9:30 am on August 26, 2026, and last rites at Oshiwara Crematorium at 10:30 am.
Born Avtar Kohli, he was a filmmaker, writer, and screenwriter with over three decades in Hindi cinema.
Directorial debut Phool Aur Kaante (1991) launched Ajay Devgn and became a major success.
Directed films including Kohraam, Suhaag, Haqeeqat, Zulmi, Anari No. 1, Yeh Dil Aashiqanaa, and Woh Tera Naam Tha.
Married Aruna Irani in 1990; second marriage, no children together.
Framing: Highlights his role as director of Phool Aur Kaante and his death from heart attack in Mumbai, but omits the confirmation by Ashoke Pandit and the specifics of the medical timeline. — Neutral and informational, with a brief quote from the brother-in-law recounting the sudden collapse.
Facts Included:
Kuku Kohli died at age 77 after suffering a massive heart attack on Tuesday.
He was admitted to Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital.
His brother-in-law, Balraj Irani, confirmed the news to India Today.
He had a blockage and had a stent fitted the day before his death.
Balraj Irani said: "He was absolutely fine and then today evening he suffered a massive heart attack. He was talking to us and just collapsed."
Funeral will be held Thursday at the Oshiwara crematorium.
Kohli was married to actor Aruna Irani and had two daughters from his first marriage to Rita Kohli: Pooja Kohli (film producer) and Karishma Kohli (filmmaker).
Karishma Kohli worked as assistant director on Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), and co-directed Netflix series The Fame Game (2022).
She married actor Mikhail Yawalkar in 2025.
He directed films including Phool Aur Kaante, Suhaag, Haqeeqat, Zulmi, Anari No 1, Yeh Dil Aashiqanaa, and Woh Tera Naam Tha.
Framing: Places emphasis on his identity as Aruna Irani's husband and 'Phool Aur Kaante' director, and notes he passed away after cardiac arrest. It includes both personal and professional identifiers. — Informative and somewhat personal, recounting the moments before his death with a sense of shock (e.g., "playful mood" and the quote "Let’s not go overboard").
Facts Included:
Kuku Kohli passed away at age 77 after suffering a cardiac arrest on Tuesday evening.
His wife Aruna Irani’s spokesperson confirmed the news to ETimes, as Aruna was not in a state to speak.
Kohli felt restless on Monday night and suffered a mild heart attack, was admitted to Kokilaben Hospital, and underwent angioplasty.
On Tuesday at around 5:15 pm he suffered a massive cardiac arrest.
Aruna was on a call with him, exchanging messages, and he said: "Let’s not go overboard."
He was born Avtar Kohli on June 4, 1949 in Peshawar.
He worked with Raj Kapoor on Bobby, Prem Rog, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, and as second-unit director on Betaab and Arjun.
His breakthrough was Phool Aur Kaante in 1991, which launched Ajay Devgn and achieved diamond jubilee status.
He directed Kohraam, Suhaag, Haqeeqat (which received seven nominations including Best Director), Zulmi, Anari No. 1 (co-produced with wife), and other films.
Married Aruna Irani in 1990; second marriage, no children together; two daughters from first marriage to Rita Kohli.
His passing marks the end of an influential chapter in Bollywood’s commercial cinema of the 1990s.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimFilmmaker Kuku Kohli died at age 77 after suffering a massive heart attack.
ClaimKarishma Kohli served as assistant director on Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), and co-directed the Netflix series The Fame Game (2022).
ClaimAshoke Pandit said: "My heart is breaking as I announce the passing of filmmaker Kuku Kohli. Today, I have lost a great friend and a great filmmaker."
ClaimAshoke Pandit told HT City that Kuku Kohli had no known illness and died of a massive heart attack, saying "He had no illness, it was a massive heart attack."