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Indian Express
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Neil Nitin Mukesh refused Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, said Bollywood didn't want him: ‘He's a singer's son, can he act?'
Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh recently appeared on SCREEN's Dear Me… Season 2. During the interview, Neil reflected upon his journey and also recalled how he had two scripts to choose from for his debut in Bollywood. The actor also shared that many in the industry were also hesitant to back him as an actor and how his debut film Johnny Gaddar changed perceptions, even though temporarily. Neil also dismissed all claims that he was the first choice for Imran Khan's Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Talking about the same, Neil Nitin Mukesh said, 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na was never supposed to be my debut film. I was given two scripts to read and pick the one where my heart was leaning more. One was Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, and the other was Johnny Gaddar. Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na was a brilliantly written film, and it was not supposed to be my debut; it was destined for Imran Khan. I had loved the film; if I had the opportunity to do both the films, I would have done them. But I had the option to just choose one.' Also Read: Neil Nitin Mukesh says he is still struggling to find work, nepotism 'never helped' him: 'I draw inspiration from actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Kartik Aaryan' Neil further added, 'Also, I came from a lot of insecurities where people were not wanting to back me as an actor, they weren't wanting to give me a chance to showcase my talent. A lot of people would say, because you are a chocolate boy, and good looking, you want to be an actor, but that wasn't the case, so I felt very insecure about that. The trend at that time was that debuts were happening with love stories, Ranbir Kapoor, Harman Baweja, and Jackky Bhagnani – all were debuting around the same time. That time debuts would happen once in five or three years, but this time there were multiple debuts happening in one year. So, I had to stand out. Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na was an amazing script; I had also auditioned for it. But somewhere, Abbas Tyrewala realized that I was not putting my best foot forward.' Neil Nitin Mukesh also spoke about working with Sreeram Raghavan on Johnny Gaddar. He shared, 'I am not claiming that I was the first choice for Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na; the film was given to me to read and see if I would do it or not. I had only one choice, and there were also questions like, he is not an actor's son, but a singer's son, so would I be able to act? To put an end to this question, I wanted a role that would shut people up and establish me as an actor. I thought Johnny Gaddar would be that film since it had five renowned actors. So I thought that was the right debut film. The audition was just one day, but then Sreeram Raghavan trained me for 6-7 months after that. It was a massive workshop. He made me unlearn everything; it was like everything you had in your mind about being Mukeshji's grandson or that you are already a star, that notion had to be removed. It was his process to get me to ground zero, and it was outstanding.' A post shared by SCREEN (@ieentertainment) 'I give all credit to Sreeram, who taught me about filmmaking and to be humble about my career. I miss working with him. He is a father figure for me. After Johnny Gaddar, a lot of filmmakers took notice of me. I worked with so many national award-winning directors after that; they said I was the guy who was challenging himself, breaking norms. Unfortunately, people evaluate your work with box office success or failure. While I am still passionate about working and keep reinventing myself, some people think that his one film didn't work, his career is over. We celebrate someone's failure more than their success. No one can boast the kind of filmography I have or the filmmakers I have worked with, in all modesty, now it's like I have to say it. Khudka dhindora peetna pad raha hai ab (I have to keep tomtomming my work now), because until you do that, no one will notice you,' Neil added. On the work front, Neil was last seen in the web series Hai Junoon on Jio Hotstar. Nawaz Kochra is an enthusiastic entertainment journalistic for the last 9 years, he has been a known face and successfully worked with some big publications. At Nawaz majorly covers TV and OTT and also does video interviews. Having the best conversations with celebrities is what Nawaz loves. ... Read More
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Exclusive! Neil Nitin Mukesh and Divya Khossla team up for a dark comedy thriller
Neil Nitin Mukesh and Divya Khossla will be seen together in the upcoming film Ek Chatur Naar. The movie marks the two actors first outing together. The dark comedy thriller is directed by Umesh Shukla , best known for Akshay Kumar-starrer Oh My God. The film, currently in its final leg of production, casts Neil as a grey and corrupt man and reportedly taps into the darker, more cerebral space he explored in Johnny Gaddar and Bypass Road. Divya, last seen in more conventional romantic roles, such as Yaariyaan 2 takes on what she calls 'an extremely difficult role." "I have tried to do an extremely difficult role, something audience has not seen me before," she adds. Divya was last seen in Savi. Neil chose to not comment on the story when we reached out to him. A source close to the project adds, "It is a revenge drama, whether Divya's character taking her revenge from Neil's character. It has the typical Umesh Shukla flavour in it as well." Earlier in an interview with us, Neil, who recently donned the producer's hat, spoke how he is keeping up with the current dynamics of the industry. 'We've come in an age and an era where social media has just taken over,' Neil told us. He revealed that makers are only looking for 'relevant actors and people with social media following'. 'I have been told by producers and filmmakers to up my social media game a little bit because the channel is requesting to get actors who have numbers. When I asked them, who are the other options that have been thrown around? I'm told people who aren't even actors. Are you ready to take that risk? You're demoralizing an actor who's worked so hard for so many years," he said.
India.com
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Neil Nitin Mukesh makes SHOCING revelations about the industry, says,' I was told my career was over after…'
Neil Nitin Mukesh makes SHOCING revelations about the industry, says,' I was told my career was over after…' In the glitzy and glamorous world of Bollywood, the career trajectory of an actor depends on many factors. While some feel that it's the actor's luck, others feel it is also bias and favoritism that may make or break an actor's career. The dazzling industry is unfair and doesn't work the same way for everyone. While one actor would keep getting new projects even after delivering back-to-back flops. Another actor may not be given enough chances after failing at the box office once or twice. Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh recently addressed this issue in an interview and spoke about the favoritism that prevails in the industry. Neil Nitin Mukesh is a celebrated actor who made his debut in 2007 with Sriram Raghavan's film Johnny Gaddar. The thriller hit gold at the box office, and Neil, with his strong performance, quickly captivated everyone's attention. Another film that rose him to fame was Kabir Khan's New York. The film also featured John and Katrina Kaif in the lead. Besides this, Neil has also appeared with Salman Khan in Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, which is also critically and commercially acclaimed. However, besides delivering some superhits, he doesn't feel that he has been given the right opportunities that other actors get, even after delivering multiple flops. Recently, in an interview, Neil openly shared that the industry's parameter of judging an actor's success is solely based on box office numbers. However, he is of the view that if an actor is playing a significant role but isn't in the lead, they will often be overshadowed. 'If I'm a part of a successful film, I deserve to be seen as part of that success. But the credit always goes to someone else,' he said. However, he also emphasises the double standards when it comes to films not making numbers at the box office. 'If a film doesn't do well, the blame falls on everyone involved, especially the actors. But when it succeeds, only a select few are celebrated,' he said. Speaking about the superhit success of New York, he emphasised that it wasn't just a John Abraham or Katrina Kaif film, it was a collective effort involving actors like Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Speaking of bias, he also said. 'Many actors give back-to-back flops and still get handed Rs 100 crore films for a comeback. But if two of my films don't work, people tell me to sit at home. They say my career is over. That's not fair,' Neil's remarks on industry reality talk about the harsh truth behind the dazzling world of Bollywood.
Hindustan Times
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.
India.com
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Neil Nitin Mukesh calls Bollywood toxic, says he is still struggling to...
Bollywood's handsome hunk, actor Neil Nitin Mukesh, is currently in the news for his upcoming web series Hai Junoon. He is busy promoting it. Meanwhile, the actor has revealed the dark side of Bollywood. He called the Hindi film industry toxic and spoke about how the downfall of others is often celebrated. Neil talked about everything from his name and entry into the industry to the mindset of people. Let's tell you what he said. Neil Nitin Mukesh, in his recent interview with Indian Express's Screen, spoke about the film industry as well as his career. The actor, who made his debut with Johnny Gaddaar, has been a part of more than 31 films so far. Speaking about his journey in Bollywood, he said it was difficult to survive. He revealed it can get a little toxic too. The actor said, 'I got so scared with that statement. My first film, Johnny Gaddar, got stuck. Sometimes you don't realize that your break is self-doubt, which you have not put in yourself; others have put it in you. People say things like you won't be able to do this. It is the one thing you will constantly keep hearing, and I have heard it so many times. Any time there is a lull, people will say he is over. But who are they to decide? I am still here, still working, trying to feed my family.' He added, 'It does happen, and it happens to a point where it gets toxic. I have seen that a lot, and I still see that a lot. I don't like that conversation. For me, an industry is like my family, at least I used to feel that. If I work or I am hoping to work with somebody, aren't we all a part of the same fraternity? Isn't it our job to call up each other and laud the work? But those phones never come, unless the person is extremely close to you. On your face, nobody will say that.' Neil Nitin Mukesh recalled a really harsh comment by a film critic. He said, 'Once very long ago on Twitter, one of my films was coming, and a very reputed critic then wrote in his opening sentence that he wondered how someone was paying Neil Nitin Mukesh even now for a job. I responded to him that I didn't need his validation to work hard, prove myself, and provide for my family. My entire industry stood by me back then. But that day I lost it with those self-proclaimed critics and understood that the voice everyone has gotten with social media has changed.'
