Daily Times

Kanti Shah’s Gunda, starring Mithun Chakraborty in the lead role, is the quintessential example of a ‘so bad it’s good’ movie.

One of the most hated films in the career of National Award-winning actor Chakraborty, Gunda sparked controversy upon its release for its questionable content. However, over time, it achieved cult status for its cringe-worthy dialogues and sketchy characters.

Among the many bizarre aspects of Gunda, actor Mukesh Rishi’s antagonist character, Bulla, remains a fan ‘favourite’, with many often quoting his line, “Mera naam hai Bulla, rakhtha hoon khulla (My name is Bulla and I keep it open),” without any apparent reason, just like his character in the film.

Meanwhile, Rishi recently opened up about how he discovered that Gunda and Bulla had become a cult favourite, years after its release, thanks to a conversation with Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan, who informed him of the film’s newfound popularity.

“As soon as we started filming, I realised that accepting the role was a misstep. Even a senior actor asked me why I did that role. I was the new villain in town and was doing good films at that time. Even I don’t know why I agreed to do that movie,” he recalled during a chat with Lehren Retro.

“Years after its release, with the arrival of computers, people started watching different stuff, including Gunda. The first person to tell me about Bulla’s fame was Saif Ali Khan. During a trip together to Hyderabad for our respective projects, he asked me if I knew that one of my films was garnering a lot of attention on the internet.”