I remember posing at Twin Towers: Neil Nitin Mukesh

I clearly remember the time when 9/11 happened. I was an assistant director at that time and we were recording a couple of songs for Mujhse Dosti Karoge in Mumbai.

A group of us were present with (singer) Asha Bhosleji at the recording studio when we got the news of the first tower getting bombed. We took it as a joke when we first heard it, but when we saw the images we thought it was an accident. I left after seeing the image on TV,  and while driving heard about the second tower being bombed. I was shocked.

I rushed home and the news was all over TV. It was shocking to say the least because I remember the time I went to New York and posed at the Twin Towers. Of course I was very small when I went there with my parents, but the very fact that those iconic towers are no more there was tragic.

US is an independent country in terms of economy, lives and safety. It came as a huge blow to them because they are such a powerful country. Of course, people were affected because it was like a big scar that took long to heal.

One of the reasons I did New York was because I wanted to be a part of something historical. The bombing of the Twin Towers has gone down in history and this story had to be told.

The effects were felt all over the world and ten years later too, people remember the incident like it just happened yesterday. The film helped us in conveying the powerful message of the futility of terror to the masses. This will be one film I will be proud of showing to my children.

While the incident did give rise to some racism towards Indians, I have to say that the authorities in the US when we shot the film were really courteous.