Neil Nitin Mukesh opened up on his ‘unique’ positioning of being an extremely fair-skinned man in India. In a recent interview with ‘Hindi Rush’, the actor said that he had missed out on several roles because of his skin tone and lamented the fact that other actors could break the mould, but he couldn’t.
Talking about his fair skin, Neil said, “I agree that in a country with a population of about 140 crores, I am unique. But that doesn’t mean I don’t fit the perspective of a common man. And the problem isn’t that I’m not trying. Today, we can make white skin look dark, right? Technology and makeup have advanced so much that we can completely transform an actor’s face. So, give some attention to acting as well. If you believe I can act, give me an opportunity.”
Giving the example of Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan, two other fair-skinned actors, Neil added, “Even if the role is of a gangster or someone else, won’t I fit that mould? Saif Ali Khan saab could do Langda Tyagi in ‘Omkara’, right? Hrithik Roshan saab broke himself free from the ‘Greek God’ mould and did ‘Super 30’, right? They can get opportunities off the ground, but here, I have to keep trying.”
Neil Nitin Mukesh began his tryst with cinema as a child artist in the late 1980s before making his debut as a lead with ‘Johnny Gaddaar’ in 2007. He worked in successful films like ‘New York’, ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ and ‘Golmaal Again’. The actor was last seen in ‘Hisaab Barabar’ alongside R Madhavan and Kirti Kulhari.