Neil Nitin Mukesh

Neil Nitin Mukesh

Mukesh at a promotional event for 3G, February 2013
Born Neil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur
(1982-01-15) 15 January 1982
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Ethnicity Gujarati, Punjabi
Occupation Film actor
Years active 1988-1989, 2007–present
Religion Hinduism

Neil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur (born 15 January 1982) better known as Neil Nitin Mukesh is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi-language films. He is the son and grandson of singers (Nitin Mukesh and Mukesh, respectively). After brief roles as a child in Vijay (1988) and Jaisi Karni Waisi Bharnii (1989), Mukesh decided to venture into acting after graduating from HR College with a bachelor's degree in commerce.

Neil made his debut as an adult in Sriram Raghavan's 2007 critically acclaimed thriller Johnny Gaddaar, which earned him a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award nomination. He subsequently earned critical praise for his performance in New York (2009) and Jail (2009); the former earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. The actor was later noted for his performances in Lafangey Parindey (2010), 7 Khoon Maaf (2011) and David (2013). He debuted in Tamil cinema as the main antagonist in Kaththi (2014), for which he learned Tamil from scratch.

Early life and background

Neil was born Neil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur on 15 January 1982 in Mumbai, Maharashtra in a Hindu family of Kayastha Punjabi and Gujarati origin.[1][2][3] His parents are Nishi Mukesh and Bollywood playback singer Nitin Mukesh, son of veteran singer Mukesh Chand Mathur.[4] He was named by Lata Mangeshkar after the American astronaut Neil Armstrong.[5] As a child, he appeared in Vijay (1988) and Jaisi Karni Waisi Bharnii (1989) as the younger versions of Rishi Kapoor and Govinda.[6]

Neil was educated at Greenlawns High School and HR College in Mumbai, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in commerce[7] at his father's insistence. He then decided to pursue a career in acting, despite being born into a family of singers.[4] In an interview with The Times of India, the actor said "Music is my hobby, but acting is my passion. A passion that even my grand-dad harboured. So, while my father continued his legacy and became a singer, I pursued his other passion. I am living his dream".[4] Neil trained at a four-month workshop at the Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Institute, and received training from actor Anupam Kher.[7]

Acting career

2007–10: Debut and breakthrough

Neil made his debut in Sriram Raghavan's 2007 thriller Johnny Gaddaar. His portrayal of a crook received positive reviews from critics[8] and earned him a Best Male Debut nomination at the 53rd Filmfare Awards. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama described Neil as a "complete natural": "The youngster carries off the part with dexterity. There's just one word to describe his performance – superb!"[9] However, despite critical acclaim the film failed to do well at the box office.[10]

Neil's first 2009 film was the science-fiction thriller Aa Dekhen Zara co-starring with Bipasha Basu, he played a struggling photographer who inherits a camera (whose photos predict the future) from his scientist grandfather. The film was a critical and commercial failure.[11] His performance received mixed reviews from critics; while Nikhat Kazmi described him as charming and effortless,[12] Raja Sen of Rediff.com said he "seems to have cleverly picked another character that doesn't require him to act much beyond the fish-out-of-water routine".[13]

Katrina, Neil and Kabir
Mukesh with Katrina Kaif and Kabir Khan on the sets of New York, 2009

His next appearance was in Kabir Khan's action-drama New York with John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Irrfan Khan. Exploring the aftermath of 9/11, the film was a critical and commercial success, earning over ₹610 million (US$9.1 million) worldwide.[14] His performance was praised by critics, earning him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 55th Filmfare Awards.[15] Subhash K Jha wrote, "Neil as the sophomore with stars and stripes in his eyes is fully convincing credible and supportive of the two central performances".[16]

His final film of the year was Madhur Bhandarkar's Jail, a drama revolving around the cruel reality faced by prisoners in Indian jails. The film's aesthetically shot nude scene (demonstrating the torture Neil's character received in jail) and a masturbation scene sparked controversy;[17] as a result, the latter scene was shortened.[18] Neil remarked, "My nude or masturbation scenes are not for titillation. It's a very practical need in the script. My character is in jail without sex for 2-1/2 years. What does he do? He naturally seeks pleasure by himself."[18] A commercial failure,[19] the film and his performance were praised by critics.[20] Taran Adarsh wrote, "Not only does Neil Nitin Mukesh deliver his finest performance to date, but the performance would easily rank amongst the finest this year. He conveys the pathos and helplessness that this character demands with amazing understanding. He deserves all praise for his extra-ordinary portrayal".[21]

In 2010, Neil featured in Pradeep Sarkar's romantic drama Lafangey Parindey with Deepika Padukone. While the film received mixed reviews, his portrayal of a fighter was appreciated by critics.[22] According to Sify's Sonia Chopra, Neil's "underplayed acting style complements the character's sketch perfectly".[23] Blessy Chettiar of Daily News and Analysis noted, "He looks great in every frame and carries off [the character's] rugged demeanour with panache".[24] Lafangey Parindey was a moderate commercial success, with a worldwide revenue of ₹310 million (US$4.6 million).[25] Neil then starred in Sudhir Mishra's dramatic thriller, Tera Kya Hoga Johnny.[26]

He has also been a brand ambassador to one of the leading clothing brands of the country, Oxemberg, in April, 2010.[27]

2011–present: Recent work

The following year Neil starred in Vishal Bhardwaj's 7 Khoon Maaf, a black comedy (based on Ruskin Bond's short story, "Susanna's Seven Husbands")[28] featuring Priyanka Chopra as a woman who murders her seven husbands in an unending quest for love. The actor was cast as Chopra's first husband, Major Edwin Rodriques, an arrogant, jealous and possessive army officer who lost a leg in Punjab's Operation Blue Star in 1984. The film premiered at the 61st Berlin Film Festival;[29] it was a commercial failure, receiving a mixed response from critics, but Neil's performance was praised. Nikhat Kazmi wrote that he "excelled as the brute".[30]

In 2012, Neil starred in Abbas-Mustan's Players as part of an ensemble cast including Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Bobby Deol. The film was a remake of the 2003 Hollywood heist thriller, The Italian Job;[31] it was also a commercial failure,[32] receiving mixed-to-negative reviews from critics (as did Neil's performance). Subhash K Jha said he "brings a mean menacing tone to the villainy";[33] according to Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma, Mukesh "mistakes sinister for superficial, resulting in a truly phony performance".[34]

In 2013, Neil worked in three films, though all were commercially unsuccessful.[35] His first release was Bejoy Nambiar's action-drama David, in which he played a gangster whose boss controls the Asian community in 1970's London. The actor said his character's dual personality appealed to him: "Here was this hardcore, extremely violent gangster and on the other hand, my director wanted me to show the emotional and romantic side to him too".[36] The film received mixed reviews, but Neil's performance was critically acclaimed.[37] Writing for The Times of India, Madhureeta Mukherjee described it as "restrained and powerful"[38] and CNN-IBN's Rajeev Masand said that Mukesh is "nicely understated".[39]

He next appeared opposite Sonal Chauhan in Eros International's horror film 3G. Filmed in Fiji, the film told the story of how the duo face supernatural occurrences when they buy a 3G-enabled phone.[40] The film was not well received by critics.[41] In a review for Rediff.com, Ankur Pathak said that Neil is "aggressively over the top" and added that his "body language is consistently uncomfortable."[42] He also appeared in Susi Ganeshan's crime thriller Shortcut Romeo with Ameesha Patel and Puja Gupta. The picture ran into trouble when it got a limited release by its producers, and emerged as a major commercial failure.[43][44] On his performance, Madhureeta Mukherjee of The Times of India said: "Neil performs well as always, he looks good (he needs to tone down his physicality for such roles) and proves that actors like him need better scripts to justify their true potential."[45]

Neil has completed work on two films—Prerna Wadhwan's romantic drama Ishqeria, which will see him star opposite Richa Chadda[46] and Manish Vatsalya's Dussehra, where Neil will feature as an encounter specialist with Tena Desae.[47] As of July 2014, he is shooting for AR Murugadoss's Tamil film Kaththi and Sooraj R. Barjatya's family drama Prem Ratan Dhan Payo with Salman Khan and Sonam Kapoor.[48] He also made a guest appearance in Wazir.

Other ventures

Social activism

In 2009, Neil started an NGO to support needy women by providing them with food, shelter and vocational training to support themselves. The philanthropic project was named for his grandmother, Saral Devi. The actor said, "I have read about women getting oppressed, exploited by men and other family members. They get sold like commodities and are driven into prostitution. I'm always pained to hear all this and at the back of my mind I had thought that I would start an organisation to support such women."[49] In 2012, he joined with Volkswagen in support of an environmental campaign called "Think Blue", an initiative increasing awareness of water scarcity and other pressing ecological issues.[50]

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1988 Vijay Young Vikram
1989 Jaisi Karni Waisi Bharnii Young Ravi Verma
2007 Johnny Gaddaar Vikram / Gony G
2008 Tera Kya Hoga Johnny Parvez
2009 Aa Dekhen Zara Ray Acharya
2009 New York Omar Nominated - Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
2009 Jail Parag Dixit
2010 Lafangey Parindey Nandan Kamthekar
2011 7 Khoon Maaf Major Edwin Rodriques
2012 Players Spider Antagonist
2013 David David / Iqbal
2013 3G Sam
2013 Shortcut Romeo Sooraj
2014 Kaththi Chirag Tamil film
2015 Ishqeria Raghav Post-production
2015 Dussehra Rudra Pratap Singh Post-production
2015 Prem Ratan Dhan Payo Yuvraj Ajay Singh Antagonist
2016 Wazir Wazir Antagonist
2016 Baaghi: A Rebel For LoveFilms that have not yet been released TBA Antagonist

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Film Result
2008 Filmfare Awards Best Male Debut Johnny Gaddaar Nominated
International Indian Film Academy Awards Face of the Year Nominated
Screen Awards Most Promising Newcomer–Male Nominated
Stardust Awards Superstar of Tomorrow–Male Nominated
Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards Best Actor in a Negative Role Won
Zee Cine Awards Critics Special Award Won
2010 Filmfare Awards Best Supporting Actor New York Nominated[51]
2012 Screen Awards Best Supporting Actor 7 Khoon Maaf Nominated

See also

References

  1. ↑ "'I would like to invest in Gujarati films: Neil Nitin Mukesh". Times of India.
  2. ↑ "'There is no formula to a hit film' - Deepika Padukone & Neil Nitin Mukesh". Businessofcinema.com.
  3. ↑ "Neil Nitin Mukesh loves everything Guju!". bollywoodlife.com.
  4. 1 2 3 Naval Shetye, Aakanksha (11 September 2007). "Neil Nitin Mukesh's Bollywood break". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  5. ↑ "Celebs named after famous people". Mid Day. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  6. ↑ "Wishing Neil Nitin Mukesh a very happy Birthday". Bollywood Hungama. 15 January 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  7. 1 2 Mulchandani, Amrita (16 June 2008). "I am in Love: Neil Nitin Mukesh Chand Maadar". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  8. ↑ Kazmi, Nikhat (29 September 2007). "Johnny Gaddaar". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  9. ↑ Adarsh, Taran (28 September 2007). "Johnny Gaddaar". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  10. ↑ "Dil Dosti, Johnny Gaddaar open poorly". Rediff.com. 1 October 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "Dashavtaar Opens to a Poor Response". Box Office India. 18 April 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  12. ↑ Kazmi, Nikhat (26 March 2009). "Aa Dekhen Zara". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  13. ↑ Sen, Raja (27 March 2009). "Shot in the dark". Rediff.com. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  14. ↑ "Box Office 2009". Box Office India. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  15. ↑ "Nominations for 55th Idea Filmfare Awards 2009". Bollywood Hungama. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  16. ↑ K Jha, Subhash. "'New York', a remarkable effort". Times of India. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  17. ↑ "Nude scene in 'Jail' won't offend moms: Neil Mukesh". Mid Day. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  18. 1 2 K Jha, Subhash (28 October 2009). "Neil Mukesh's masturbation scene in Jail shortened". Mid Day. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  19. ↑ Kazmi, Nikhat (16 November 2009). "Ranbir-Katrina jodi strikes gold at Box Office". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  20. ↑ Malani, Gaurav (6 November 2009). "Jail: Movie Review". The Economic Times. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  21. ↑ Adarsh, Taran (6 November 2009). "Jail". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  22. ↑ Guha, Aniruddha (20 August 2010). "Review: Lafangey Parindey is complete paisa vasool". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  23. ↑ Chopra, Sonia. "Movie Review: Lafangey Parindey". Sify. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  24. ↑ Chettiar, Blessy (20 August 2010). "Review: Lafangey Parindey is a tribute to Mumbai's spirit". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  25. ↑ "Box Office 2010". Box Office India. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  26. ↑ "Failures keep you grounded: Neil Nitin Mukesh". NDTV. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  27. ↑ "Brand ambassador Oxemberg: Neil Nitin Mukesh".
  28. ↑ "Priyanka's guide to losing your beloved in 7 ways!". The Indian Express. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  29. ↑ Chhabra, Aseem (18 February 2011). "7 Khoon Maaf premieres at Berlin Film Fest". Rediff.com. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  30. ↑ Kazmi, Nikhat (17 February 2011). "7 Khoon Maaf movie review". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  31. ↑ "Players different from the original movie: Bipasha". The Hindustan Times. 27 December 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  32. ↑ "Agneepath Bumper Opening But Collections Fall Quickly". Box Office India. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  33. ↑ K Jha, Subhash (7 January 2012). "Subhash K. Jha speaks about Players". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  34. ↑ Verma, Sukanya (6 January 2012). "Review: Players is lacklustre and unimaginative". Rediff.com. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  35. ↑ "Don't make mistake of writing me off: Neil Nitin Mukesh". Zee News. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  36. ↑ Roy, Priyanka (31 January 2013). "David: star and style". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  37. ↑ "Neil Nitin Mukesh's David gets mixed reviews". The Hindustan Times. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  38. ↑ Mukherjee, Madhureeta (1 February 2013). "David". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  39. ↑ Masand, Rajeev (2 February 2013). "'David' Review: Much to appreciate but formidable length mars its chances". CNN-IBN. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  40. ↑ Sharma, Garima (3 March 2013). "Neil Nitin Mukesh, Sonal Chauhan promote 3G". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  41. ↑ "'3G – A Killer Connection' Critics Review: A Big ‘NO’". International Business Times. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  42. ↑ Pathak, Ankur (15 March 2013). "Review: 3G only offers cheap thrills". Rediff.com. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  43. ↑ Tuteja, Joginder (25 June 2013). "Neil-Ameesha, Mithun-Suniel starrers sabotaged?". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  44. ↑ "Box Office Earnings 28/06/13 - 04/07/13 (Nett Collections in Ind Rs)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  45. ↑ Mukherjee, Madhureeta (20 June 2013). "Shortcut Romeo". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  46. ↑ Parkar, Shaheen (25 January 2014). "Neil Nitin Mukesh starrer 'Ishqeria' delayed yet again". Mid-Day. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  47. ↑ "Neil Nitin Mukesh an encounter specialist in 'Dussehra'". Zee News. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  48. ↑ "'Johnny Gaddar' inspired my look in 'Kaththi': Neil Nitin Mukesh". Zee News. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  49. ↑ "Neil champions the cause of women". DNA India. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  50. ↑ "Neil supports environment awareness campaign". Indian Express. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  51. ↑ http://www.desiblitz.com/content/55th-filmfare-awards-2010-winners

External links

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