Neil Nitin Mukesh in Jail

Being Madhur Bhandarkar’s first male protagonist; what kind of a responsibility is that?

Oh my god! You are scaring me now (laughs)! I was waiting for the day. It was my father’s biggest dream actually that I work with Madhur Bhandarkar. I didn’t think that it will happen so soon in my career. He called me and I went and met him. He said: “I want to make a film called Jail.” Instantly I knew what this man had in mind. On the basis of just the title Jail, I agreed to do the film. Madhur said: “At least hear the script out.” And I told him: “Sir, my script is right here in front of me.”

So you never went through the script of Jail...

To be honest, I didn’t go through the script. I just went through the one-line story idea. That was enough for me to go out there. Because come on, you are working with a Madhur Bhandarkar. There’s a certain approach, there’s a certain style. Besides I had a fair idea what the film is going to be.

Did you prepare yourself in anyway to play Parag Dixit?

Parag Dixit is my toughest character. It was very difficult to portray him on screen. I am just hoping that I come across as real and I am able to connect with people. I haven’t rehearsed for it. I haven’t prepared for it. The moment you rehearse or prepare for a role like this you look mechanical on screen.

Around 75 to 80 per cent of our population are disconnected with jail. Even I was one of them. We can’t believe it can happen to us. It can. Parag Dixit can be anybody. It can be you, it can be me, it can be Madhur Sir himself. I wanted the audience to come and see this film and relate to Parag and understand what is happening to him. Till now, we have only shown jails as a one-dimensional entity in films. It’s not like that. There are 400 people in one cell! It’s a very different world from what we know it. Preparation would have killed me.

Neil with Mugdha Godse in Jail

But your visit to real prisons for research was much publicised...

I did go to Thane jail and interacted with a lot of inmates out there. But there the major trigger point for me was when I saw these six prisoners being escorted inside the barrack by the security. And each of them had a yellow arm band. I asked the superintendent of police who was with us what that band meant. He said that the yellow band means they have been sentenced for life. If you would have seen their faces at that point of time, they were dead men walking. They had given up hope and when a man gives up hope, that’s the scariest point. He can be damn dangerous. He has nothing to lose.

Did you watch any prison movie like Shawshank Redemption?

Not just for Jail, I watch lots of movies anyway. I am a huge movie buff. I have watched Shawshank Redemption, Dead Man Walking, Rendition, all of them. But Jail is not any particular film, not an Escape From Alcatraz.

Ever since you began shooting for Jail, the film has become synonymous with that one nude shot that you have in the film. Don’t you feel it takes the spotlight away from the movie itself?

That scene is the crux of the movie actually. In fact, that’s the first scene of the film. It’s a scene we couldn’t have missed out because it is a process that happens. It’s something we are not creating just for the heck of publicity. It would have, in fact, been bigger if the news hadn’t come out and the scene would have been just there, up there on the screen. But now because it’s out and people know of it, maybe not. It’s still big.

Was the scene difficult to shoot?

At that point of time, it didn’t matter whether it was skin show or not skin show. You are not worried about that. The only thing you are worried about is what’s happening to Parag’s mind. It was my duty as an actor to portray that properly on screen. People should know what happens. If we can go ahead and say that there’s a mobile phone inside a jail, we should also say that there is a stripsearch. It does happen. They want to know if you are carrying a blade somewhere.

Why didn’t you then tell your parents about the scene and they had to know it from the papers?

See, I am not an inhibited person at all. I have no inhibitions. Actors should not have. I was not scared of doing this scene because Madhur Bhandarkar was handling it. At the same time I was very concerned about my mom and my dad. They are the closest to me. I respect them a lot more than anything else. You also have to understand the fact that I am working in this industry to carry on the legacy of my family. There’s a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. I use the name Neil Nitin Mukesh. I have my father’s name and his father’s name on me. I cannot afford to do something that can tamper with the reputation and goodwill they have earned for themselves through these decades. I was only worried that if my parents were sitting in the audience, they shouldn’t be ashamed of me as their son. But now I know they won’t. They will be very proud of their son as an actor. If my mother feels like that, I am guaranteeing that all the mothers across the world would have no problems with the scene.

Despite your legacy, you started as an outsider with Johnny Gaddaar. Having done four films now, do you feel comfortable in the Hindi film industry?

I am very much at home. I was comfortable the day I started my first film. It was a long wait, but! But it was completely worth it. You know, I always go by my gut feeling. My sixth sense is strong in a way. When Johnny Gaddaar was stalled for a year-and-a-half, everyone around me told me to move on. I said, no yaar... this film is going to happen and this is the film I will debut with. Today Johnny Gaddaar is the biggest hit of my career in so many ways.

But from that small indie film you have moved on to a big banner like Yash Raj Films, first with New York and now a film with Pradeep Sarkar opposite Deepika Padukone...

It’s also a sensible film. I feel it will be a good film. I haven’t started shooting for that but I have read the script and I love it. Banners do help. Banners ensure that your films release. As an artiste that’s all you want. You need your art to be seen up there. Good or bad let people judge but at least let it be seen.

You have become a big hit with the girls. Have you analysed why?

(Laughs out loud) I don’t know that! But Aa Dekhen Zara helped me connect with the youth. The film might not have done well but it’s a big hit for me. I went to Mussoorie with mom and dad and when I went to Mall Road, within five minutes there was a mob. Every one was singing Aa dekhen zara... And when I came back to my hotel room, there were around 200 kids, all under 12, all lined up to take autographs and photographs with me. I felt nice.