After an early January release last year, Neil Nitin Mukesh stayed away from the silver screen in the months that followed. But the actor, who celebrates his birthday today, says that 2013 will see him make up for last year’s absence with as many as five films in the offing.
“Shooting... that’s what I had been busy with the whole of last year,” says the birthday boy, who will celebrate the day working on the promotions of David, his first film this year. “Later there will be a birthday celebration with family and close friends,” says Neil, adding that he prefers his birthdays to be a low-key affair.
Neil is kick-starting this year too with a rather different role in Bejoy Nambiar’s David. “When I made my debut five years ago, I had offers that would have been considered the ‘dream debut’ in the conventional format, I chose Johnny Gaddar instead. I wanted to pave my own way and was hungry for roles that took me ahead in the direction I had started off. Today, that road remains the same, but the hunger has grown,” says Neil.
Interestingly, the films this year are not only hatke from the regular fare but also from each other as far as genres are concerned. “David is a black-and-white drama, 3G is a psychological horror flick, Shortcut Romeo is an action masala film, Ishqeria is a romantic love story and Rum Pum Posshh is a fun film; so yes, there’s a mix of genres,” Neil says.
“The only thing in common is that all characters are well-defined and have some quirky elements to them,” he adds. And most of them have strong streaks of grey... “Yes, they are my own fifty shades of grey,” laughs Neil.
The stakes are invariably high at the box-office, and with the kind of movies he does, the risk automatically increases. “There’s a Friday for everyone here. I am happy getting my due and seeing others get theirs. The competition is healthy, but it has never been a consideration for signing films,” Neil adds. While the actor’s gearing up for a busy year ahead professionally, his personal life remained a subject of speculation last year with rumours of links-up.
“Controversies make for a good read, but they don’t change the facts. And the fact is that I don’t like people talking about my personal life... there’s no drama happening for others to watch,” he says. “Right now, all I can say is that I am enjoying living on the edge with my characters in my each film and am really excited about finding out how they will be received personally and professionally,” smiles Neil.
