Aakash Kaushik confirms using AI to recreate late actor Mukul Dev’s voice in Udta Teer after his death in May 2025. The film’s Operation Sindoor sequence, referencing real events, required posthumous dialogue adjustments. Kaushik shared emotional memories and preserved Dev’s WhatsApp voice notes.
Aakash Kaushik didn’t just finish Udta Teer — he had to rebuild it. The film’s narrative hinges on real-world events, opening with Operation Sindoor, a pivotal moment that took place on May 7, 2025. Mukul Dev, who played a key role in the sequence, was central to that scene. But his sudden passing on May 23, 2025, at the age of 54, left the team reeling.
Aakash Kaushik confirmed in an interview with Bollywood Hungama that the production faced a creative crisis: how to retain the line referencing the operation without the actor. The answer came through artificial intelligence. “Yes, we did use AI,” Kaushik said, confirming the technology was deployed to recreate Dev’s voice for a revised version of the dialogue.
It wasn’t a full performance. Not a new scene. Just one line, preserved from memory and delivered through digital means. The decision wasn’t made lightly.
Kaushik admitted he couldn’t work for days after learning of Dev’s death. He’d spoken to him just a month before. “It came as a shock to me,” he said. “I was completely stunned.” The emotional weight of the loss lingered long after the final call.
He still keeps the WhatsApp voice notes Dev sent, messages that weren’t typed, but spoken. One of them, recorded shortly before his death, said: “Tune yeh bahut accha role likha hai. Iss picture ke baad, mujhe poore India se pyaar milega.” You’ve written a very good role. After this film, I’ll get love from all over India.
Kaushik replied then, and still thinks about it now: “Sir, maine accha likha hai, lekin aapne usse bhi better perform kiya hain.” I wrote something good, but you performed it even better. He promised Dev the recognition would come. And it did. Now, the film moves forward, not as a tribute, not as a replacement, but as a quiet act of continuity.
The character lives on. So does the laughter. Dev’s voice, reconstructed by code, echoes through a scene that remembers him. The film is set for release, though the date remains unconfirmed.
What’s certain is that the story isn’t just about action or comedy. It’s about what happens when a man disappears mid-scene, and the tools we use to keep him there.
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