Three years after he debuted in Johny Gaddaar, Neil Nitin Mukesh is back in another Johny film, Ab Tera Kya Hoga Johny that opens in the theatres on December 17. Of course, in this case, Johny is a teenage boy, another debutant, Sikander Agarwal. But as producer Tutu Sharma points out, “In our film Johny personifies the common man. He could be this coffee delivery boy, a corrupt cop played by Kay Kay Menon, Soha Ali Khan’s small-time model, Karan Nath’s cocaine snorting loser, get-rich-quick Neil or the love of his life, Shahana (Goswami). Everyone is a Johny, we all are.”

Sharma, who is married to actor Padmini Kolhapure, has produced star-studded Bollywood biggies like Rajkumar (1996), Gharwali Baharwali (1998) and Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karen (2005). He went missing for a while, sparking off speculations that ridden by debts and he had flown to Dubai to escape creditors. Laughing off the rumours he says,  “I was around, only away in London briefly to set up a company. Just six months ago, I released Mr Singh Mrs Mehta, and now there’s Ab Tera Kya Hoga Johny coming up.”

The film’s been ready for a while, so why the delay? “It was playing on the festival circuit, but for a commercial release, we wanted a different cut and mix. So we re-shot some portions and re-did the technicals including the DI. Then waited for the right time,” he informs. He reasons that December 17 offers him a clear week’s run, before Tees Maar Khan and Toonpur Ka Superhero line up. “These days, even big films depend largely on the first weekend’s collections and we have the advantage of Christmas euphoria that erupts from December 21,” he maintains.
  
Interestingly, Sharma has also produced the first Malayalam film starring Mohanlal, Aakashagopuram, filmed and post-produced in UK. An adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play, The Master Builder, with National Award winning director K P Kumaran at the helm, it had music by BAFTA and multiple Emmy award-winner John Altman who has scored for Golden Eye and Titanic. The visual effects were by John Harvey and Jonathan Trussler (Kingdom Of Heaven). Sharma who has also produced a Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Bengali film, besides Hindi, wants to make a film in every Indian language. “May be another Marathi film, a South Indian one too, and definitely more Hindi films,” he says. “You will see a lot of Tutu Sharma now.”