‘Aa Dekhen Zara’ with Neil Nitin Mukesh

  • IndiaGlitz, [Saturday,March 28 2009]

Recently, Neil Nitin Mukesh with producer Viki and Writer Shantanu of Film ‘Aa Dekhen Zara’ was there in the capital for the promotion of his film ‘Aa Dekhen Zara’.

‘Aa Dekhen Zara’ is a musical thriller. The songs are very situational. We have some great music by Gaurav Das Gupta and Pritamda. I think the music is helping the narrative of the story very much. At the same time, there is action which is limited but is more thrilling. And considering it to be a thriller, ‘Aa Dekhen Zara’ is an under two-hour film.

The world is full of “what ifs” and “what might have been”. When, in 2007, Neil Nitin Mukesh received a raft of glowing reviews for his shape-shifting efforts in ‘Johnny Gaddaar‘ and then was announced as the next best thing, many of his compatriots wondered where this new Indian phenomenon had sprung from. His sudden rise to the Bollywood prominence seemed oddly spectacular. Add more, his debut film wasn't even released in the overseas but those few who witnessed his extraordinary work knew he had arrived.

The rest would remain in the dark till he emerged as the new thriller boy in his latest film ‘Aa Dekhen Zara’, yet another thriller, this time around with the sexy Bipasha Basu as his co-star.

One film old and he is notoriously hard to pin down but we managed to nail him just in time while he was busy 'rock n rolling' along with his new band for the film, ADZ- The Rising, promoting his film by touring different cities across India. Our correspondent caught hold of the actor who has stepped aside from his peers and shown himself to be one of the country's most unusual and potentially important stars. Of course, he too makes a singing debut, but it's in his blood for god sake! Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the ever so suave and the smooth operator Neil Nitin Mukesh in an exclusive chat on his next big thriller, marketing strategies, his wish to sing with Bips, his wish to sing with his dad, his excitement on his first overseas theatrical release, followed by some scary moments, some behind-the-scenes photography skills and a sneak peek inside his future from his magical camera.

We heard that you desperately want Bipasha Basu to sing the title track along with you? He said, “Yes, I wanted her to be a part of the songs which was so important. So I pitched the idea to her and was hoping that she would agree to lend her voice to the title track, ‘Aa Dekhen Zara’. It would've been great if Bipasha could sing the song in the film because I am emotionally attached to the song.“

Singers galore in your family. To sing must've been an easy task isn't it? “No it wasn't an easy task. 'Aa Dekhen Zara' is a legendary song and it's not an easy song to sing. It's a song sung by one of the world's best singer, Kishore Kumar, it is composed by one of the world's finest music director, R.D Burman. So to re-create something which was already created was difficult and when I sang the title track, it was a tribute to the legendary Kishoreda, R.D. Burman saab and my grandfather.”, says Nitin.

Ray Acharya will show you all the shades in ‘Aa Dekhen Zara’ as a boy next door who gets special powers and thinks that his problems will get solved without realizing that he is creating bigger problems for himself. Gone are the days of super heroes who prove that they can save the world. Here come the days that you really attack on the fact that there is selfishness in everybody. That's where Ray Acharya gets sucked into.

Also, Jehangir is young, enthusiast and has a great vision of cinema. That's what these debutant directors possess. What really attracted me to do this film was, even though the concept was larger than life and it's a fictitious film in every sense, it's about a guy who gets the camera which shows the future. But the way Surti has handled the future element is so neat that you can relate to it. He wanted the surroundings to be real more than his characters. These few and many more qualities didn't make Jehangir a 'first timer'.

Bipasha is adorable, I just love her. She is so maintained and very good at her work. I will always be there for her whenever she needs me.