
Filmmaker Kuku Kohli died of a heart attack on Tuesday at Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. He was 77. Kohli directed the 1991 film Phool Aur Kaante, which launched both Ajay Devgn and Madhoo as leading actors in Hindi cinema.

Ajay Devgn posted on X that Kohli changed the course of his life and that he was "forever grateful" for the filmmaker's faith. Madhoo told IANS she met Kohli less than a year ago and called his death unbelievable, crediting one phone call from him for making her a star. Vicky Kaushal, Katrina Kaif and Rohit Shetty attended the last rites. Kohli is survived by wife and veteran actress Aruna Irani and two daughters from his first marriage.
The coverage is uniform straight reporting: all outlets lead with Kuku Kohli's death and Ajay Devgn's tribute, and give the same basic facts about the filmography and cause of death. The one difference is a relative emphasis point: Times Now and Bollywood Hungama build the story entirely around Devgn's gratitude, while Times of India gives equal weight to Madhoo's separate recollection of the phone call that changed her career. Cinema Express provides the most biographical detail about Kohli's earlier assistant work and his family. The balanced reading is that both the male and female lead of his breakthrough film publicly credited him, and neither framing distorts the event.
Coverage: 4 sources, 4 neutral
Sources (4): timesnownews.com (neutral report), cinemaexpress.com (neutral report), bollywoodhungama.com (neutral report), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 4 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 4 sources.