Treading on the offbeat path

Refusing to follow the melodious footsteps of his grandfather - legendary singer Mukesh and father - noted singer Nitin, rebel son Neil instead preferred to face the movie camera.

“Believe me, I am not an actor by default. Right from my childhood, papa dreamt of seeing me as an actor. As a child artiste I played cameo roles in Yash Chopra’s ‘Vijay’ and Vimal Kumar’s ‘Jaisi Karni Waisi Bharni’. That’s when I got the kick for acting,” says the 25 year-old who has trained in acting with Kishore Namit Kapoor.

And did he have to struggle to get a break as a hero? Neil says, “Yes. My dad was adamant that I achieve success on my merit. Crazy as it may sound, Sriram, the director of this film finalised me only after being prompted by several ‘deals’ with his pack of playing cards where he had to choose between top stars and me. It is all thanks to Lord Ganesha’s blessings that gave me a break in ‘Johnny Gaddaar’.”

Talking about his role in ‘Johnny Gaddaar’, did he miss doing the romantic naach-gaana in the film? “Not really. Mine is a complex character called Vikram and the film is a thriller. Hence, it has no scope for conventional songs although there are intense romantic scenes with co-star Rimi Sen,” Neil states.  

Neil adds that he had quite an action-packed time while he was shooting for the film. He says, “I had a lot of action scenes to perform.

During one stunt where I was climbing down a building, the harness snapped. There was another action scene where my co-star accidentally smashed a real glass-bottle on my head and I fell unconscious as a result.”

Apparently, there was another action scene that happened off-screen which Neil still can’t get over. “Dharam-ji (Dharmendra) was to slap me for a scene but he ended slapping me hard. He was apologetic. But when I told him, that I didn’t take it as a slap but as his blessing, he hugged me.

Even as Neil’s debut film ‘Johnny Gaddar’ gets ready for release, he has been signed by director Sudhir Mishra for his next movie ‘Tera Kya Hoga, Johnny’. “I now have to live up to the expectations of my family and friends other than Lata-didi and Yash Chopra-uncle,” signs off Neil.