Neil Nitin Mukesh: 'Bollywood has taught me to fight for myself'

Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh sees film industry as a boxing ring, where game isn't over till one falls down or hear sound of bell. He says an artiste's constant endeavour is to be back up and continue fighting till end. Neil me his debut in 2007 with Sriram Raghavan's thriller "Johnny Gdaar" and went on to work in films such as "New York", "7 Khoon Maaf" and "David".

RE | Bypass Ro: Neil Nitin Mukesh shares latest promo of film

While he saw hits and received critical acclaim for his performances, Neil also went through a low phase where his films did t work. This, actor says, has taught him to be strong. " industry has taught me that it's a boxing match, where every Friday re's a kck that you eir get up or give up. whole idea is to t lay down, you've to get up. You've to keep coming up. industry has taught me to fight for yourself big time. You have got to prove, t in a b way, but an empowering way," Neil told PTI in an interview.

actor says that in se 12 years of his career, he feels fortunate to have worked with filmmakers like Sriram, Vishal Bhardwaj, Kabir Khan and Bejoy Nambiar from whom he has learnt a lot about filmmaking. " journey has been extremely educational. I never h formal training in acting before I became an actor... Everyday has been an evolution for me, learning from so many fine filmmakers of country. Even done films in different langus and all kinds of movies

RE | Bypass Ro: Some of best films by Neil Nitin Mukesh till date

"It has never been a number game for me that 'I have worked on five films this year and have more twenty coming up.' For me it's kind of people I work with and learn from. I never understood math behind box office." 37-year-old actor says he realised pretty early in his career, working with diverse filmmakers across langus, that cinema is t going to be stagnant at any given time.

"It surprises you every time you feel you're in best phase. But n re's a new spin. That changed my perspective a lot," he said. Which ultimately led to Neil turning writer and producer with "Bypass Ro". home-invasion thriller drama is directed by his bror, Naman Nitin Mukesh.

RE | Neil Nitin Mukesh's dance with his daughter is too cute for words

Neil says he h as many as 12 film ideas but he gravitated towards "Bypass Ro" as he felt this was perfect time for its release, thanks to digital platforms which have changed game. "I knew that somewhere digital platforms are going to take over, about three and a half years ago. I h finished writing first draft and I was also working on 12 or ideas. I went back and chose this one because I thought if OTT comes and it's booming by time I would make it, n it would've become obsolete. I would've been too late to make film."

"Bypass Ro", featuring Neil, ah Sharma, Shama Sikander, Rajit Kapoor among ors, is scheduled to release on vember 8. 

RE | Neil Nitin Mukesh's movies where he portrayed a grey character