Neil Nitin Mukesh started his career in the movies in 2007 with Sriram Raghavan’s Johnny Gaddaar. Shortly after that, Neil appeared in some promising roles, most notably in Kabir Khan’s New York, but in many of his interviews, Neil has expressed his displeasure about not being offered the right kind of opportunities. In a recent interview, Neil shared that in the case of many popular actors, they are presented many opportunities despite a dozen flops, but in his case, he was told his “career is over” after just a couple of his films underperformed at the box office.
In a chat on Varinder Chawla’s YouTube channel, Neil shared that people in the industry evaluate an actor based on their box office success, and ignore the appreciation that their work gets. He also pointed out that even if an actor plays a significant role in a big budget film that is led by a star, the success of that film doesn’t really help them. Neil’s biggest success was Salman Khan-starrer Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, directed by Sooraj Barjatya. “Unfortunately, if you are a part of a big film and you are playing a significant part of that film… consider me a part of that success as well. But you will give the credit to someone else. If this film had flopped then it would be a fall for everyone involved. That’s unfair,” he said.
Neil Nitin Mukesh shared that one of his early successes, New York, starred John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and himself but the film didn’t just belong to the three leads, it was a team effort. “Like New York, it’s not just John or mine or Katrina’s film. It just doesn’t belong to Kabir Khan, it’s a collaborative effort. Everyone has put in hard work. All the actors, Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, it belongs to everyone. The producers, their conviction in us, it’s a hit for everyone but if it’s a flop, or it doesn’t reach the numbers, the blame cones straight to the actors,” he said.
He then said that many actors have the liberty to give 10 flops, and are still given their 11th film with Rs 100 crore budget. “I have seen a lot of big actors giving flops but they keep getting opportunities. But for us, if there are two flops in a row, they say you be at home now. This is the only unfair bit. Didn’t he just give 10 flops? You have given him his 11th Rs 100 crore film to make a comeback but here, two films falter and you say career over. What do you mean career is over? Even if the films didn’t do well, and you were praised for your work, people are ready to write you off almost instantly and they get pleasure out of this,” he said. Akshay Kumar has been stuck in a flop spree for a couple of years now. He has had more flops in a row than hits.
Neil Nitin Mukesh, who is the grandson of singer Mukesh and the son of Nitin Mukesh, was last seen in the JioHotstar series Hai Junoon.
