Neil Nitin Mukesh

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Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar named him after Neil Armstrong Lata Mangeshkar and Neil Mukesh’s grandfather Mukesh had a strong relationship. Lata Mangeshkar tied rakhi to Mukesh and the two shared their sacred brother-sister bond. When Neil was born, his grandfather Mukesh was no more. Hence his father called Lata Mangeshkar to perform the naming ceremony. When Lata saw young Neil she inadvertently exclaimed - ‘Yeh toh angrezi bachcha hai....’ (He looks a foreigner). Since the family had selected for the letter N for the name; Lata Mangeshkar named him Neil, after the famous American astronaut, Neil Armstrong, purely because Neil looked a foreigner and had blue eyes! Neil Nitin Mukesh gives credit of his acting career to his grandmother As a child, Neil would spend his weekends with his grandmother. She was a film buff and watched old movies at home. She had a compulsion that Neil must watch, at least, one film with her. She would usually show him old Raj Kapoor films and inform him about his grandfather’s (Mukesh) song. While watching these films, young Neil got attracted to the glamour of screen and decided to act in films. When he was just six years, he was introduced to the big screen by film legend Yash Chopra as a child artist (He played younger version of Rishi Kapoor) in his film Vijay (1988). Later he did Jaisi Karni Waisi Bharni(1989) in which he played younger version of Govinda. Unfortunately both the films failed and he could not get many films as child artist. But he loved the charm and decided to become an actor. Though he was trained in music and like his grandfather Mukesh and Nitin Mukesh he too was groomed to be a singer. However when his father Nitin Mukesh saw his inclination towards acting, like an understanding father, he encouraged him to pursue acting and even guided him to achieve his goal.

Neil and Rukmini had an arranged marriage Neil Mukesh comes from a family that believes in Indian culture and tradition. When Neil’s parent saw Rukmini they were overwhelmed by her simplicity and traditional values. Neil abided his parent’s choice. Thus Neil and Rukmini had an arranged marriage. They married on February 9, 2017.

Neil Mukesh and Nitin Mukesh were not on talking term for six months When Neil had made up his mind to become an actor his father advised him to first work as assistant director and learn the entire process of filmmaking. Hence after acquiring a degree in Commerce, Neil began as assistant film director to Bollywood’s top filmmaker, Aditya Chopra in his movie Mujhse Dosti Karoge. Later to equip himself with the knowledge in acting he learned acting at Kishore Namit Kapoor and actor Anupam Kher's acting institute. After gaining confidence Neil ventured into films. On the outset he had two films offers. One film was a typical teenage love story and the other film was a crime thriller, in which Neil had a dark character. While Neil’s father wanted him to make a debut in love story, Neil was resolute to do the negative role. Father and son were at loggerhead and for six months they were not talking to each other. Finally father had to bow to his son’s wishes and Neil did Johnny Gaddar. The film won him rave reviews and many awards. It established Neil as a good actor. Neil Mukesh got opportunity work with great filmmaker Having proved his potential as a powerhouse actor in Johnny Gaddar, Neil had the opportunity to work with prominent filmmaker’s like his mentor, Aditya Chopra signing him in New York (2009). The film was directed by Kabir Khan. Neil had a powerful role of Indian Muslim, who is mistakenly accused as terrorist in New York. In Madhur Bhandarkar’s Jail, Neil played the role of jail convict. The film depicted the inhumane harassment and had a scene depicting Neil nude in a torturing scene. His other films include Pradeep Sarkar’s Lafangey Parindey (2010), Vishal Bhardwaj’s 7 Khoon Maaf, Abbas-Mastan’s Players; Bejoy Nambiar David and Wazir, Sooraj Barjatya Prem Ratan Dhan Payo etc. Besides Bollywood, Neil has became a popular villain in South Film Industry too! After creating sensation as a versatile villain in Bollywood, Neil was signed by South filmmakers, Murugadoss (who made Aamir Khan’s Ghajini) opposite South Super star Vijay for the film Kaththi. The film was super hit and Neil was nominated by South Indian International Movie Awards as Best Villain. With the success of Kaththi, Neil is the most sought after villain in South Film Industry and will be soon seen opposite Prabhas (Hero of Baahubali) in Telugu film Saaho.