Neil Mukesh to take a more conventional route

His powerful debut film Johnny Gaddaar has proved to be a bit of wimp at the box-office. But Neil Mukesh who stars as a cold-blooded money-minded killer in Sriram Raghavan's noire film is far from daunted.

"I agree Johnny Gaddaar is a box-office disappointment," Neil admits four days after his debut tanks. "We came during the month of Ramzan when thirty percent of the (Muslim) population likes to stay away from movies. But I'm still hopeful. Not a single person who has seen Johnny Gaddaar has disliked the film or my performance."

No regrets? "None at all! I'm glad I started my career through the unconventional route. Even my second film Sudhir Mishra's Tera Kya Hoga Johnny is highly unconventional. I wanted to prove myself as an actor before I do the routine hero-giri. Everyone thought I was trying to be an actor because I thought of myself good-looking. Not so! I chose acting because I didn't have the discipline to be a singer like my grandfather Mukesh. Even my father Nitin Mukesh couldn't be another Mukesh."

Having done the most unconventional debut ever Neil Mukesh Mathur is all set to try his hand at orthodox gananachna roles. "Mercifully the offers are coming in a steady trickle in spite of Johnny Gaddaar failing to take off. Quite frankly I didn't even think about the film's fate. I had given all of myself to the project for a year. I had no more energy or emotion to invest in counting its blessings at the box-office. Johnny Gaddaar

And now an equally big challenge awaits Neil. "My second film Tera Kya Hoga Johnny is also very unconventional. I wanted to work with a director like Sudhir Mishra even if the protagonist is played by a young boy from Jharkhand called Sikandar. There're two parallel plots in Tera Kya Hoga Johnny, one featuring Soha Ali Khan and the other featuring me. I play a guy called Parvez who's idolized by Sikandar."

Quite a reversal of the role Neil played in Johnny Gaddaar where he looked up to his guru in crime played by Dharmendra. "But now I promise you my third film will be a traditional love story. I want to prove that I can do the routine stuff too," says Neil. was a challenge. I am glad I took it up."

'Johnny Gaddaar' wins accolades

The film fraternity rarely showers praises on films they’re not associated with, but Sriram Raghavan’s JOHNNY GADDAAR seems to be an exception. Although the film has under-performed at the box-office, several respected film-makers are extolling praises, calling it one of the finest films to hit the Indian screens in a long, long time.

“It’s an incredible film,” NO SMOKING director Anurag Kashyap tells me, “One of the finest thrillers to have come out of Bollywood.” Madhur Bhandarkar cannot stop praising the film. “It swept me off my feet. Sriram has done a fantastic job. And Neil is a star. Not only is he blessed with great looks, the level of performance is rare for a first-timer,” Madhur states.

Meanwhile, Adlabs is hopeful that the business would gather momentum in days to come since the word of mouth is very positive. “October 2 [Gandhi Jayanti] is a holiday and the business should show an upswing,” an Adlabs personnel told this writer.

No 'Johnny Gaddaar' in U.K.

Adlabs has decided against releasing their biggie JOHNNY GADDAAR on U.K. screens. Normally, all keenly anticipated movies, even if loaded with violence and sex [considered a put-off by the Overseas junta] open at cineplexes there. But Adlabs aren't releasing JOHNNY GADDAAR in theatres in U.K.

"The holy month of Ramzan has hit film business hard. The Pakistani audience, which forms a large percentage of film-going audience in U.K., stays away from movies in Ramzan. As a result, the business hits an all-time low. Instead of ruining the business prospects of JOHNNY GADDAAR, we decided against releasing the film in theatres. Besides, the adult certificate will also keep the kids away, so why take the risk?," Pranab Kapadia, Business Head, Adlabs Films – U.K. tells me.

Wise move indeed!