Mukesh woos Padukone in Lafangey Parindey

Think of a shirtless, all-conquering macho Bollywood hero. Neil Nitin Mukesh is probably the last actor to spring to mind. His boy-next-door-looks may have prevented him from achieving alpha-male status — or perhaps it's down to audiences expecting him to reprise his perfect underdog character following his scene-stealing performance in New York. But Mukesh, 28, is convinced his latest drama, Lafangey Parindey (Free Birds) will make him Bollywood's next testosterone-charged toughie.

"My friend called me up the other day and said that Lafangey looks like my debut film. He was like, ‘Arre yaar [hey buddy], you have done everything in this film — romance, action, stunts, dance. It's a perfect showcase for you — just like a perfect debut.' And it felt good hearing him say that," Mukesh says in an interview with tabloid! over the telephone from Mumbai.

In Lafangey Parindey, Mukesh plays a champion street-fighter whose name, One-Shot Nandu, refers to the power of his punch. Even if the name doesn't set off alarm bells among the faint-hearted, the caption on the film's official website, "He is wild, he is born to fight", provides ample warning. And when he is not fighting in the ring blindfolded, Nandu is seen zipping across Mumbai's gritty neighbourhoods with his biker gang friends.

"People may not associate me with biker gangs and living-in-the-fast-lane types. But for most of my life, I have lived in South Mumbai where biker boys were extremely popular. Though I didn't speak their language per se [biker-gang Mumbaikars have their own Hindi slang], I hung around them from time to time at their wadis [hang out] near the seaside. So getting [under] the skin of the character was not that difficult."

Biking mania

To lend further authenticity to his character, Mukesh even executed his own stunts. But he is quick to clarify that Lafangey Parindey steers clear of the Bollywood biker-blockbuster Dhoom featuring John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan, which triggered biking mania in Bollywood's epicentre, Mumbai. "Lafangey Parindey is nothing like Dhoom these films are polar opposites and their treatment is different. In Lafangey we are not trying to imitate the high-level, dangerous biker gangs that you see in Hollywood films. This is more a realistic take and it's essentially a love story."

True to his word, the love-story angle is highlighted when you see the hardened Nandu wooing a ravishing Deepika Padukone in the trailers. Padukone plays fiercely ambitious middle-class girl Pinky Palkar, who is itching to get away from her not-so-posh neighbourhood. She aims to be a roller-skating champion. And she's blind.

"When the script was narrated to me by [director-producer] Adi [Aditya Chopra], I was immediately drawn to Pinky. She had this determination to get out of her middle-class neighbourhood and make something out of her life. I love that about her," says Padukone during a shooting break in Mumbai.

But unlike Mukesh, who had a relatively stress-free time while executing stunts, Padukone had a tougher challenge. She says she had to learn skating like a pro within six months. "Come to think of it, I have played all kinds of sports all through my life. Swimming, badminton, cycling... I don't know how skating was not even on my list. But I suppose in India skating culture is not very high. And I just had six months to learn it like a professional skater. That was not easy."

With as many as five releases in 2010 alone, Padukone is one of the busiest actors in Bollywood today. "I think I need to slow down. Right now, I am exhausted emotionally, mentally and physically. After Lafangey, I want to do fewer films in a year and take regular holidays. I haven't gone on a break for more than a year," she says. "But you know what, I plan to go on a long 10-day break with my family. I really need it."

Her co-star Mukesh is quick to praise her dedication and her workaholism, calling her his new "best friend for life".

"She has enjoyed so much success in such a short span of time. But she never takes her art or her acting for granted. Unlike some other actors of her stature, who go through the rigours of acting in a methodic manner, she is never sluggish, plus she is extremely talented," says Mukesh.

The admiration is not one-sided. Padukone is equally generous in paying compliments. "Neil is one of the nicest human beings I have met. He was even my prosthetic make-up artist for a day when he told us that he had taken classes for it in London. We attained a comfort level that only childhood friends attain."

Irresistible charm

Surprisingly, Padukone is not alone in her observations about her new mate. Mukesh's other leading ladies from Katrina Kaif (they were seen together in New York) to Bipasha Basu (Mukesh played her lover in Aa Dekhe Zara) have also spoken of him in glowing terms but not romantically. Ask Mukesh about his soaring popularity among the ladies and he deadpans: "They simply can't resist my charm, I suppose."

Now the big question remains: will he able to similarly charm Bollywood buffs as a macho man? "We are keeping our fingers crossed," he says. "Believe me, we have worked extremely hard for more than a year on this project and I can't wait to see how people react to my role and our film."

Under crossfire

Deepika Padukone isn't one to skate on thin ice, even when faced with a couple of sticky questions...

Do you think it is a good idea releasing Lafangey Parindey during Ramadan, when fewer people go to the cinema?

It's not my job to decide when a film should be released. I am sure Yash Raj film producers and Adiji [director-producer Aditya Chopra] have given it a lot of thought before making the decision. And also, content of a film is what draws the audience to the theatres.

You are known to work only with Bollywood A-listers like the Khans and the Kumars. Will we ever see you in a small-budget film with a relatively unknown actor?

If the script interests me, why not? Remember, an actor like Shah Rukh Khan was willing to act with a newcomer like me in my debut film, Om Shanti Om [right]. He gave me an ideal launch. So it's not like I am seeking to act with big stars [only].

I will be more than happy to work with a reliable production house if the story interests me. Very often, projects get stalled and that won't do my career any good.

Did you know?

Deepika Padukone spent time with the blind to prepare for her role as Pinky Palkar. But, she says, no amount of observation is of any help if you don't have the conviction to carry off the role. "I didn't rely too much on observation, because it's your instincts that ultimately matter in acting.

"Also, I didn't watch movies like Black or Fanaa to prepare for my role. These were films I saw years back, because I was fascinated by these films. It was not some kind of homework back then."

Don't miss it

Lafangey Parindey is released in theatres across the UAE Thursday.