With Saaho, Neil Nitin Mukesh promises to rock the show again as a baddie

Neil Nitin Mukesh may have scored successes at the box office with some films or not quite covered the distance with a few others. However, not once have fingers been pointed at his intent to deliver, commitment or the performance in front of the camera. Walking a thin rope while being a hero, as well as villain, of the piece in Johnny Gaddaar (2007), Neil has been around for over a decade now and has comfortably placed himself well as a baddie. However, this, too, is with a difference as his charm has remained intact even in the face of menace.

The same is expected in Saaho which is inarguably his biggest film till date and also the most awaited one for the audience this season. While the promo of the Prabhas-starrer has clearly established that the film would be a visual spectacle for sure, what is also much awaited is the battle between the good and the evil. With Neil leading the pack when it comes to the villains in the film, one waits to see how he shows his mean streak in there.

The kind of confidence that the makers have in his characterization, performance and screen presence was pretty much evident in the promo itself when quite some screen time was devoted to him. Though there are other baddies in the film as well, notably Jackie Shroff, Chunkey Pandey and Mahesh Manjrekar, all eyes are currently on how Neil Nitin Mukesh turns up as a baddie.

That is understandable, too, as in his solitary South outing earlier on Kaththi. He held on to his own despite being pitted opposite a much senior and revered superstar Vijay. As a businessman, Neil Nitin Mukesh gave a very good account of himself as Cedric Peter Von.

This is not his only act of villainy that has been notable though. He was the only negative element in Salman Khan and Sooraj Barjatya’s world of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo while the comic world of Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal Again was interrupted only due to Neil’s wrong deeds. Both the films went past the 200-crore mark and emerged as major successes.

He, in fact, played the title role of Wazir in the Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar-starrer while ably demonstrating grey shades in the part of Late Sanjay Gandhi in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Indu Sarkar. What has made Neil Nitin Mukesh’s performances different in each of these films is the kind of different streaks that he has brought in his mannerisms, body language, facial expressions and dialogue delivery, something that makes one believe that there would be quite some surprises in store next when he is seen in Saaho this weekend.

While one waits to see the kind of characterization that he has in his home production Bypass Road, directed by his brother Naman Nitin Mukesh, there would sure be quite some heroism even in a villain act once Neil Nitin Mukesh gets all menacing as a baddie in Saaho.

(Joginder Tuteja is a trade expert and film critic, and loves to talk and write about anything that is related to films. Views are personal)Are you happy with your current monthly income? Do you know you can double it without working extra hours or asking for a raise? Rahul Shah, one of the India’s leading expert on wealth building, has created a strategy which makes it possible… in just a short few years. You can know his secrets in his FREE video series airing between 12th to 17th December. You can reserve your free seat here.