Once dismissed as a B-grade film unworthy of its talented cast, Kanti Shah’s Gunda (1998) has achieved cult status over the years. Among the many facets of the Mithun Chakraborty-starrer, Mukesh Rishi’s antagonist, Bulla, has become a fan-favourite. “Mera naam hai Bulla, rakhta hoon khulla,” is a line that has become very popular in meme culture online. In a recent interview, Mukesh Rishi opened up about Gunda, and revealed that it was none other than Saif Ali Khan who told him that it had taken on a new life.
In an interview with Hindi Rush, Mukesh Rishi said, “When I received an offer to play the villain in Gunda, I didn’t think about it too much. I was the new villain in town. They paid me well. But, when the shooting commenced, I regretted my decision. I was regretting it because the film’s language. Everybody in the film, be it Shakti Kapoor, or Mohan Joshi, they were all talking in a similar tone and language, so I had to do it as well.”
He added, “Kanti Shah was known for making such films and it was also well-received by the audience. It wasn’t like these films were flops. But, these films were not considered as mainstream cinema. Even Shakti Kapoor questioned my decision of making this film.”
Mukesh Rishi revealed when he realised that the movie had taken on an ironic quality in the internet age. He said, “It fascinates me that this character is still going strong even in this digital era. It was Saif Ali Khan who told me about the new-found popularity of the film. He said, ‘Your film is going viral on social media’. I was like, ‘Which one?’, and he said, ‘Gunda’.”
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Expressing his happiness about the film’s sustained popularity, he said, “What worried back then was how will people see me after having done such roles, but today’s generation has found humour in it. I hesitated to repeat the dialogues from this film. However, today’s generation has changed the way people look at the film. They have found a positive element in it. My own daughter says, ‘Bulla, Bulla kya kar raha hai’?”
Upon its release in 1998, Gunda was withdrawn from theatres after the CBFC received complaints from college girls who felt offended by the violence and vulgarity in the film. Despite all the controversy, Gunda was reportedly the 46th-highest-grossing film of 1998.
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