Neil Nitin Mukesh yawns non-stop. He’s tired (“I’ve been sleepless for three days”) because of promotional events; his film with Salman Khan is scheduled for a Deepavali release. In all this flurry of activity, he’s in Chennai — for the launch of Brand Avatar’s Fashion Premier Week. In a chat at the Presidential Suite, Crowne Plaza, the actor gets talking about his choice of films, what he’s currently working on and the interesting tale of how he got his name.
You were named after the astronaut who went to the moon...
My father keeps telling me this story time and again, and I always love listening to it, and sharing it. For my naming ceremony, he had invited Lata Mangeshkar, someone he has great regard for. When she saw me, she exclaimed, ‘Yeh toh angrezi bachcha hai....’ {he looks a foreigner} and wanted to know what they were going to name me. My family had thought of a couple of names beginning with ‘N’. But Lata ji wanted to give me an English name. She christened me Neil, after the man who went to the moon (Neil Armstrong). The name, and spelling, has stuck since then.
You hail from a family of musicians. But how did you end up an actor.
Music is something that I’ve been passionate about. I play the piano and sing but I always knew that it was never going to be my bread and butter. I was very interested in acting. In my family it was important that there should be creativity. In fact, my younger brother now wants to become a director.
You’ve been in the industry since 2007. How do you take stock of your career till now?
I try to constantly balance my films out. If I did a Jail , I did do a New York as well. If I’m doing a film like 7 Khoon Maaf , there’s also a Lafengey Parindey . Though I’ve done 3G and Shortcut Romeo in the recent past, I consider David (2013) as something I’m proud of. Irrespective of what the box office tells you, it’s something I’ll show off.
Is that why you’re teaming up with its director, Bejoy Nambiar, again?
When David didn’t do well, I needed to figure out what to do that would be ‘accepted’. Unfortunately, every Friday, perception changes. When a film doesn’t do well, people start doubting you as an actor. But yes, I am working with Bejoy in Wazir. I think he is a fantastic director. In fact, after Wazir , we’re doing a web series as well.
Talking of filmmakers, Murugadoss cast you as his villain in the Vijay-film Kaththi. You even dubbed your lines...
I swear that I never thought that I’d do a Tamil film someday! I took up Kaththi only because of Murugadoss sir and later learnt, much to my delight, that Vijay sir was the hero. In a way, I saw it as a film that would take me out of my comfort zone and help me evaluate myself. It made me learn and unlearn; Tamil was an alien space, and I had to do well. Every single evening, I would rehearse the lines. I had a tutor at home and all the assistant directors helped me with the translations. So, before we went to shoot, I actually knew every single line and the meaning. That helped me emote well. When we first filmed with Vijay, he was unaware that I knew the lines... he was pleasantly surprised.
Have you been following cinema in the South for a long time?
I’ve grown up on Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan films. Personally, I feel southern films are the only ones that work on scripts. The writers here take time to develop their stories. And people accept them. Otherwise, Shankar sir wouldn’t be doing films like Endhiran and I . And now, he’s doing Endhiran 2 ... oh, I so wish I was part of that!
You have shot with Salman Khan in Prem Ratan Dhan Payo . Tell us something we don’t know about Salman
He’s like a ‘big kid’… one with a golden heart. The people who know him love him, but the ones who don’t, judge him.
Your next, Wazir , sees you pitted against the Big B...
I’m a menace in the film; the character needs him to be that. I need to intimidate Bachchan saab on screen; isn’t that fun?
