Neil Nitin Mukesh on his Saaho experience, his first home production and how he feels to be a new dad
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 29, 2018)

On September 20, Neil Nitin Mukesh and wife Rukmini became proud parents of a daughter whom they have named Nurvi, the goddess of love. “My father (singer Nitin Mukesh) suggested the name as she was born during the Ganpati festival and ‘Nurvi’ is also mentioned during the aarti. We also wanted to continue with the family tradition of having names beginning with N,” says the new daddy.

Has his night duty started? “Not yet, since the mother and daughter are still at Rukmini’s mother’s home. I’ve seen my mom go through the phase with my younger brother Naman and my sister with her kids, so I’m prepared. Rukmini is a hands-on mother,” he avers.

They will come home on Dhanteras, November 5 and Neil is busy putting the finishing touches to his daughter’s nursery. He admits it’s still hard to believe that he’s a dad now, but when he’s around Nurvi, it’s beautiful and he gets emotional.

Neil has been working continuously since Nurvi’s birth and is hoping for a brief paternity break once he wraps up Saaho, Bypass Road and Firrkie.

The first teaser of Saaho was released on Prabhas’s birthday, October 23, and Neil who plays a pivotal role in the film, is thrilled with the feedback. They’ve finished about 65 per cent of the film, the last few days of shoot will happen in December in Hyderabad. “The action is of Hollywood standards. I felt I was on the sets of Batman and Christopher Nolan was around somewhere waiting to say ‘action.’ Kenny Bates (who was also the stunt coordinator on Pearl Harbor, The Italian Job and Transformers) is one of the finest action directors I’ve worked with. His work is all about destruction, yet he is such a gentleman,” gushes Neil, bowled over by the action-packed chases. “A lot of cars were blown up and came tumbling towards us. One flip blew my mind. While it was being filmed, we were asked to stay far away from the location. I’d only seen such a flip on screen before,” he says with awe, applauding the team for it’s brilliance and safety measures.

He’s also all praise for Prabhas who, when he learnt about Rukmini’s pregnancy during the shoot in Abu Dhabi, came to her in their hotel room to congratulate her. “We had packed up early that day and Prabhas had to go somewhere else, but he cancelled that to come and see Rukmini with flowers and a gift hamper. He is such a gentleman and bliss to work with,” raves Neil.

Meanwhile his first home production, Bypass Road, is almost 70 per cent complete. He admits he was nervous initially as his younger brother Naman is making his directorial debut with the film. “I didn’t know he had this kind of maturity. It took me back to my Johnny Gaddaar days when people would wonder if I’d be able to pull off the film. My brother is a little bit of an introvert, but he knows his job,” says Neil, gung-ho about Naman’s handling of a difficult, high risk action sequence in the thriller-drama. “One wrong step and it’d have created havoc. But Naman held his ground. He’s far more mature and calmer than me,” he acknowledges.

Meanwhile, he’s started writing his next production, a very different script from the three he has written. “I can’t reveal the genre yet but it’s something we want to explore after Bypass Road. We’re not sure yet if I will act in it and if Naman will direct it. We’ll take that call once the initial draft is ready,” Neil signs off.