Enough is enough:Neil Mathur
By Subhash K Jha
Legendary singer Mukesh's grand-son Neil Mathur is in an extremely
angry mood. "Enough is enough! I won't be taken for granted any longer."
The provocation for this normally mild-mannered young actor's outburst
is director Tigmanshu Dhulia accusing Neil of unprofessional and starry
behavior.
Taking a deep breath Neil explains, "Though I've done two back-to-back
films with 'Johnny' in the title I'm no Johnny-come-lately.
By
the grace of God I come from family where I can live comfortably
without earning a single penny all my life. Luckily for me, that's not
how I want to live. I do understand my responsibilities as my father's
only son, and that's why I need to be disciplined and professional in
my conduct."
Sighs Neil, "The truth is Tigmanshu Dhulia was to do another film
called Fame with me. I was really excited about it. He suddenly changed
his mind because someone else (Suniel Shetty) was making a film on the
same subject (Paparazzi).
At the eleventh hour Tigmanshu came
to me saying he wanted to do another film called Good Night from 15 Feb
when I didn't even have a script in my hand. I had never heard the
subject…nothing! And I was supposed to say yes? Wow! This is very
disturbing."
Calming down just in time the young actor seen as Ranbir Kapoor's
nearest rival, confesses, "In all honesty I wanted to work with
Tigmanshu. But I need time to prepare. I can't work with proposal
makers.
I can't play around with my career, sorry. I won't work with a director
who comes with a one-liner. If that makes me look choosy then so be it.
I've struggled for many years.
My debut film Johnny Gaddar was stuck. Where was everyone when my
father (singer Nitin Mukesh) and I would be crying together wondering
if my first film will ever be completed!"
Neil says the early struggle has matured him. "If I choose my roles
correctly am I being unprofessional and starry? Acting is something I'm
passionate about. Even if I'm running a high fever I forget about it
once the camera is switched on."
Neil is excited about the film he'll be doing with Madhur Bhandarkar.
"We've been discussing the idea for a long time. I like to be on board
from the outset. I like to watch the film evolve from scratch. We'll
start the film as soon as he finishes making Fashion."
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