Post Players, Neil Nitin Mukesh will fly off to Kenya for the final schedule of his first-ever love story, Shortcut Romeo. An official remake of Susi Ganesh’s Tamil film, Thiruttu Payale, it also stars Ameesha Patel. “Susi was Mani Ratnam’s first assistant director and is a big name down South. We’re modernising the remake, with the Bollywood market in mind,” he promises.
Neil recalls Shakespeare’s Romeo as a heartbroken lover, but his is a smart cookie who looks for shortcuts and breaks hearts along the way. Off camera, Neil would rather work hard, and is currently without a Juliet: “I’m waiting for her because I believe and want to be in love.”
The buzz is that after breaking up with girlfriend Priyanka Bhatia, he was playing the field with Bipasha Basu. He says, “Bips and me? That’s funny! She’s a buddy.”
And what about his Lafangey Parindey (2010) co-star, Deepika Padukone, with whom he went to see Karthik Calling Karthik (2010) and said that if single, he’d be the first to be waiting outside her door with a rose. Deepika responded saying, “I don’t know what is stopping him,” and soon after he tweeted. “I stood outside Deepika’s door yesterday with a red rose for three hours. Then I realised that she had gone for the promotions of Aarakshan. Remind him about that and Neil laughs, “That was a joke. Deepika’s a co-star and a dear friend whom I respect.”
Asin and he were also spotted getting cosy at a suburban hotel. Later, he was believed to have recommended her for a film, and also berated her for getting close to Salman Khan and ended up with a ‘it’s over’ text. Says Neil, “Asin and I haven’t even worked together yet. There was an offer and we were sitting in on the script. Maybe that’s when people saw us together. I’m fond of her and her family. And this dumping drama is rubbish. Right now, I’m not dating anyone.”
{{/usCountry}}Asin and he were also spotted getting cosy at a suburban hotel. Later, he was believed to have recommended her for a film, and also berated her for getting close to Salman Khan and ended up with a ‘it’s over’ text. Says Neil, “Asin and I haven’t even worked together yet. There was an offer and we were sitting in on the script. Maybe that’s when people saw us together. I’m fond of her and her family. And this dumping drama is rubbish. Right now, I’m not dating anyone.”
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