Neil loves stardom

Give me the chance to hop on a plane and I will. It doesn’t take me much time to pack my bag,” says Neil Nitin Mukesh, for whom, as he says, “just 3 t-shirts and a pair of jeans are enough to tide over a holiday.” A fact that Sonu, his friend cum secretary, reiterates when he shows us Neil’s tiny bag.
This may sound like a beauty pageant question, but we ask anyway.What are the five essentials that Neil must have before swishing off on a holiday? “My wallet with my credit card, my toothbrush – since I can’t use just any toothbrush – a tongue cleaner, my mobile phone and my iPod,” comes a prompt reply. And India comes tops at this jetsetter’s wishlist. “I want to be that guy who can say, ‘Yes, I’ve travelled everywhere in India,’” he says, explaining, “I think there is so much more to explore here; and also because, of course, India is home, and I’m extremely proud of being an Indian, especially about its different cultures.”
Neil continues, telling us about a recent trip he made. “A few ago, I travelled from Amritsar to Chandigarh by road – it was such a beautiful drive. There were loads and loads of carts by the roadside, where people were selling jaggery – fresh, hot jaggery. I went a little ahead where there were fields with those bhattis where they were making jaggery. I stopped there and sat down for an hour, watching the way they were making it. Fresh, hot, piping gud. It tasted so good, I bought a lot of it in different flavours. Muh mein abhi bhi paani aa raha hai soch ke,” he chuckles.
So post moviedom, has his carefree travel been affected? “A little, yes,” he admits, “When I was in Chandigarh, I went to Jallianwala Bagh. But suddenly someone recognised me, and within a few minutes, there was a mob. So I couldn’t spend the time that I wanted to there.” But he adds, “To be very honest, since I chose this line, it would be unfair to say that I don’t like the attention. This is what we all are working for – for name, for recognition. And I feel if you handle it correctly, you can enjoy both.”
Neil, who’s currently on a weight-gain mission for his next two films, tells us he’s used to the whole exercise. “With every film, my weight keeps fluctuating. I lost about 9 kilos for Jail, and now I have to put on the same for Lafange Parindey. For New York, I had to gain 11 kilos, and then lose around 9,” he informs.
Isn’t it too much of a pain? “Yes, it definitely is. That’s why it’s called method acting!” he laughs. But he explains, “The kinds of roles I’ve done are very character-oriented. If the audience doesn’t identify with the character, then it kind of falls flat. Besides today, each actor wants their look to be perfect; whether for a glamourous or a de-glam role.”
The actor also practices Taekwondo to remain fit. “I’ve learnt Taekwondo and Tai Chi for quite some time now, but the reason the news has come up now is because of this action packed ad that I did.” There were reports that he directed the stunts himself... “I haven’t directed the ad,” he clarifies, “but yes, the breakdown has been done by me, along with the director of the ad.”
Does he have any plans for direction? “That is a little premature question for me to answer, but maybe in future, I might,” he says, adding, “As of now, I don’t have any plans. But maybe, 10 or 15 years later, you might just find me directing a film.” The actor, who’ll next be seen as one of Priyanka Chopra’s seven husbands in Saat Khoon Maaf, and opposite Deepika Padukone in Pradeep Sarkar’s Lafange Parindey, and in Abbas-Mustan’s The Italian Job, may also be in a Dhoom sequel. We ask him if his muscle building exercise is for Dhoom 3, but he stays non-committal. “I’m in talks with Sanjay Gadhvi. Things are shaping up. I might be in Dhoom 3, let’s see.”
Check out Neil Nitin Mukesh’s homepageFollow us on Twitter for more stories