Neil Nitin walks the ramp in prison wear, handcuffs

New Delhi, Oct 27 (IANS) How about designer clothes for prisoners? 'Not a bad idea,' says Bollywood actor Neil Nitin Mukesh who walked down the ramp Tuesday wearing a designer version of prison uniform along with handcuffs at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) here.

The actor, who will be seen playing a prisoner in his forthcoming film 'Jail', was wearing designer Reynu Taandon creation -- he flaunted an off white short kurta, pyjama with minimal black embroidery and sequins that added a dash of glamour to the outfit.

When IANS asked Neil about how he felt about wearing designer prisoner clothes, he said: 'It's different but nice. It's not a bad idea to get Reynu to redesign the uniform for jail inmates.'

He was accompanied by co-stars Mugdha Godse and Manoj Bajpayee apart from director Madhur Bhandarkar -- they all walked the ramp to promote 'Jail'.

The actor pointed out how the designer had taken special care to add a bright yellow strip on the kurta's sleeve - a symbol on the jail uniform that denotes lifetime imprisonment for a convict.

'She (Reynu) has done authentic research to design just two garments for us. The yellow strip denotes life imprisonment in a real jail and our characters also go through it. She was the one who thought of making us wear handcuffs and gave us fake bruise marks through make-up to give the real feel,' said Neil.

Nude scene in 'Jail' won't offend moms: Neil Mukesh

He does a full monty in Madhur Bhandarkar's upcoming movie 'Jail', but Neil Nitin Mukesh insists the nude scenes won't distract any mother because the narrative is high on emotional quotient.

"I was asked to strip down completely and the only question before doing the scene that I had in mind was - what would be my parents' reaction when they watch the film? Would they be ashamed of me as their son? But I think they'll be extremely proud of me as an actor to have gone ahead and done it with a lot of courage," Neil told us in an interview.

"In fact, no mother sitting in the audience will be distracted with the skin show in the film. My character Parag Dixit is extremely high on emotional quotient and people are going to be attached to that. I don't want anybody to notice the body in that scene and if someone still gets distracted, then probably he or she is not yet connected to the character," added the 27-year-old.

But wasn't he apprehensive about going full monty?

"There was a slight hesitation initially in the sense that I was a bit shy in terms of taking off the clothes, thinking it was for a billion people. But I was confident that Madhur sir will handle it with a lot of grace and dignity, which he has," said the young actor who debuted in an unconventional role in 'Johnny Gaddar'.

Co-produced by Percept Picture Company and Bhandarkar Entertainment, 'Jail' is the hard-hitting yet sensitive tale of an ordinary man who finds himself inside a prison due to a series of unfortunate events.

Releasing Nov 6, it also stars Manoj Bajpai in a pivotal role with Mugdha Godse in the female lead.

Asked about the controversy over the nude scene, Neil said: "I won't say it is blown out of proportion. It deserves the attention it has been getting because it is for the first time that an actor has gone ahead and done something like this. Though that was not the motive behind it; it was to actually project what really happens inside a jail.

The Box Office Smiles on New York

It took a while for it to happen, but the year's first proper hit has finally happened and the film is none other Yash Raj Films' New York, starring John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh. It may be hard to believe, but if trade reports are to believed, then this movie seems to have managed to best even Sajid Nadiadwala's Kambakkht Ishq, which had a phenomenal opening of 95 per cent all over.

Now it remains to be seen if Kambakkhth Ishq can keep up the momentum. But the drought at the box office has been broken and New York can safely be called the first genuine hit of 2009. Of course, the year also saw films like Raaz The Mystery Continues and Dev D which did pretty good business as well at the box office. But the year had far too many flops than hits like Chandni Chowk To China, Billu, Delhi 6, Aa Dekhen Zara, 8x10 Tasveer etc. It may not have taken so long for the year's first hit to arrive if the feud between the multiplex owners and producers had not taken place. The trend of the hits and flops this year shows that it is the content which is king at the box office. With the floodgates at the box office being open now, there is a glut of films which are waiting eagerly for their turn at the box office like Shortkut The Con Is On, Luck, Love Aaj Kal, Blue, Kaminey, Dil Bole Hadippa, What's Your Rashee?, Kites, 3 Idiots, Rocket Singh Salesman of the Year, De Dana Dan, London Dreams, All The Best, Aladin, Wake Up Sid, etc. But before they hit the box office, it will be worth the watch to see if Kambakkht Ishq joins New York as the year's hits or not.

'New York' hits bull's eye, grosses Rs.350 mn over weekend

Yash Raj Films' 'New York' that sees director Kabir Khan tackling an unconventional and serious subject has brought much-needed respite to the box office by grossing Rs.350 million worldwide over the three-day weekend.

'New York', released worldwide on Friday, is about three friends whose lives change post the 9/11 terror attacks on the twin towers. It stars John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Irrfan Khan in pivotal roles.

The movie that hit over 900 screens across the world had promising advance bookings and continued to register more demand from the audience after the first day of its release.

According to Tushar Dhingra, COO, BIG Cinemas, the film "opened very soundly and is giving good results".

"It has proved to be a strong box office ledge for multiplexes. After a long, long time, this movie has been able to pull the crowds to the cinema halls again," Dhingra told us.

Apart from its success in India, 'New York' has also garnered positive response from movie buffs in the US, Britain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where it was released across around 60, 40 and 30 cinema halls respectively.

The movie has opened at the number three slot on the Australian charts and 10 in Britain at the weekend. It was the top earner in UAE for 2009, said a press release by Yash Raj Films.

'New York is the kind of film that no actor could afford to miss'

He's gorgeous, can act and not shy about letting it all hang out.

And though Neil Nitin Mukesh is just two films-old, he's not scared of playing strong roles or posing in the nude if the script demands it.

The light-eyed 27-year-old spoke to Nithya Ramani about his latest film New York directed by Kabir Khan and co-starring John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Irrfan Khan. The film, which is based on the backdrop of the 9/11 attacks in the US, releases this Friday. Neil also talks about his nude scene in Madhur Bhandarkar's upcoming film Jail.

What is New York about?

It is a film about three friends and a particular incident that changes their lives completely. It is a very intelligently made film. Kabir Khan has made it into a youthful film where you can connect with the characters and identify with what they go through.

What is you role?

I play Omar, a Muslim boy from Delhi who goes to New York University to study. He meets two lovely friends -- Sameer and Maya -- who help him change his attitude towards life completely. Everything is fine until one day an incident changes all their lives.