13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Neil Nitin Mukesh reveals Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na was offered to him: ‘Was asked to choose between this and Johnny Gaddaar'
Jaane Jaane Na turned out be a dream debut for actor Imran Khan but do you know the film was first offered to Neil Nitin Mukesh? Neil recently revealed in an interview that he was offered the film but with a caveat.
(Also read: Neil Nitin Mukesh says many in the industry celebrate when a film doesn't work, admits it has become 'toxic')
In conversation with Just Too Filmy, Neil said that producer Jhamu Sugandh offered him both Johnny Gaddaar and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na on the same day but asked to choose one. 'I loved Jaane Tu… It was a love story, and that was the trend," Neil said. However, the actor wasn't comfortable with people calling him a "chocolate boy" hence he went for a more uncoventional, darker role which led him to choose Sriram Raghavan's Johnny Gaddaar.
The New York actor further said, "Jaane Tu… was destined for Imran. It was an honour that I even got to read the film. I will never say that I rejected Jaane Tu… I didn't have the honour of working on that film. If I had the privilege of working on both, I'd eat both of them and give my 100 percent but unfortunately for me, I couldn't work on Jaane Tu."
Directed and written by Shriram Raghavan, Johnny Gaddar was a neo-noir crime thriller which marked Neil's debut and earned him rave reviews. Produced by Adlabs the film also starred veteran actor Dharmendra Zakir Hussain, Rimi Sen, Vinay Pathak, Govind Namdeo, Dayanand Shetty and Ashwini Kalsekar. The film was a sleeper hit and received critical acclaim too.
Neil will next be seen in Hai Junoon! Dream. Dare. Dominate, an upcoming musical drama television series directed by Abhishek Sharma. Produced under Jio Creative Lab, it also stars Jacqueline Fernandez. The series is scheduled to premiere on 16 May 2025 on JioHotstar.
