Neil Nitin Mukesh on asking Shah Rukh Khan to ‘shut up’ at an award function: ‘He gave me that liberty’

Neil Nitin Mukesh has clarified that he never insulted Shah Rukh Khan. He was talking about the decade-old video that often goes viral and shows him asking Shah Rukh to ‘shut up’. Neil was talking to Sidharth Kannan in a new interview where he recalled that the Pathaan star gave him the ‘liberty to have fun’. (Also read: Shah Rukh, Sidharth, Kiara, Aditya, Ananya spotted at star-studded birthday bash)

Why Neil asked Shah Rukh to shut up

Neil joked that no matter what Shah Rukh does, it is his video (from the award function) that goes viral. When the interviewer described the video as one showing Neil throwing insults at Shah Rukh Khan, the actor said, “Not at all. They were never insults. I would never ever, I love that man, the entire nation loves him. He was having fun, I was having fun and both of us knew that.”

Asked if it was entirely scripted, Neil said, “If you say so, I’ll believe it. If you want to call it scripted, let it be, but there was love. He told me beforehand that ‘I’ll have some fun with you’. So I asked, ‘Sir, what level of fun are we talking about?’ He said, ‘Whatever you can think of, do it.’ He gave me that liberty so I did it. I would never disrespect an elder, a person from Mukesh family will never insult anyone.” He added that irrespective of where he is in his career and stardom, he can never insult anyone.

When Neil asked Shah Rukh to shut up

During the 2009 Filmfare awards, Shah Rukh had asked Neil about his “three names”. He said, “I have a question for Neil Nitin Mukesh. Tumhara naam hai Neil Nitin Mukesh, bhaiya surname kahan pe hai? Saare ke saare first names hain (Your name is Neil Nitin Mukesh, you have three names but where is the surname)? Why don’t you have a surname?”

Neil had then replied, “Sir, very kind question, thank you so much. But can I take the liberty of saying something?” After a “go ahead” from Shah Rukh, Neil had said, “That is an insult for me actually, I feel. It’s not right. I think you haven’t seen, but my father’s sitting out here. I think you guys just need to shut up. I’m sorry.”

Neil on dealing with depression

Neil also said that he did ‘method-acting for Jail’, and faced depression after the film, but he was aware of what to expect and how to deal with depression so he could manage.

He also said that it does feel that despite having worked with great actors and directors, he still has to prove himself with each new film and it hurts. However, he added that he continues to believe in his skills and wants only to do good work. He also said that it hurts when he saw friends disappearing when things did not go too well for him on the professional front. He also said that he realised it was time to filter his friends, especially after the pandemic outbreak, and keep only those ones in his life who actually care for the friendship.