Recently , Niel Nitin Mukesh with producer Viki and Writer Shantanu of Film Aa Dekhen Zara was there in the capital for the promotion of his film “Aa Dekhen Zara”.

Aa Dekhen Zara is a musical thriller. The songs are very situational. We have some great music by Gaurav Das Gupta and Pritamda. I think the music is helping the narrative of the story very much. At the same time, there is action which is limited but is more thrilling. And considering it to be a thriller, Aa Dekhen Zara is an under two hour film.

The world is full of what ifs and what might have been. When, in 2007, Neil Nitin Mukesh received a raft of glowing reviews for his shape-shifting efforts in Johnny Gaddaar and then was announced as the next best thing, many of his compatriots wondered where this new Indian phenomenon had sprung from.His sudden rise to the Bollywood prominence seemed oddly spectacular. Add more, his debut film wasn't even released in the overseas but those few who witnessed his extraordinary work knew he had arrived.

The rest would remain in the dark till he emerged as the new thriller boy in his latest film Aa Dekhen Zara, yet another thriller, this time around with the sexy Bipasha Basu as his co-star.

One film old and he is notoriously hard to pin down but we managed to nail him just in time while he was busy 'rock n rolling' along with his new band for the film, ADZ- The Rising, promoting his film by touring different cities across India. Our correspondent caught hold of the actor who has stepped aside from his peers and shown himself to be one of the country's most unusual and potentially important stars. Of course, he too makes a singing debut, but it's in his blood for god sake! Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the ever so suave and the smooth operator Neil Nitin Mukesh in an exclusive chat on his next big thriller, marketing strategies, his wish to sing with Bips, his wish to sing with his dad, his excitement on his first overseas theatrical release, followed by some scary moments, some behind the scenes photography skills and a sneak peek inside his future from his magical camera.

We heard that you desperately want Bipasha Basu to sing the title track along with you? He said, “Yes, I wanted her to be a part of The songs which was so important. So I pitched the idea to her and was hoping that she would agree to lend her voice to the title track, Aa Dekhen Zara. It would've been great if Bipasha could sing the song in the film because I am emotionally attached to the song. “

Singers galore in your family. To sing must've been an easy task isn't it? “No it wasn't an easy task. 'Aa Dekhen Zara' is a legendary song and it's not an easy song to sing. It's a song sung by one of the world's best singer, Kishore Kumar, it is composed by one of the world's finest music director, R.D Burman. So to re-create something which was already created was difficult and when I sung the title track, it was a tribute to the legendary Kishoreda, R.D Burman saab and my grandfather.”, says Nitin.

Ray Acharya will show you all the shades in Aa Dekhen Zara as a boy next door who gets special powers and thinks that his problems will get solved without realizing that he is creating bigger problems for himself. Gone are the days of super heroes who prove that they can save the world. Here come the days that you really attack on the fact that there is selfishness in everybody. That's where Ray Acharya gets sucked into. Also,Jehangir is young, enthusiast and has a great vision of cinema. That's what these debutant directors possess. What really attracted me to do this film was, even though the concept was larger than life and it's a fictitious film in every sense, it's about a guy who gets the camera which shows the future. But the way Surti has handled the future element is so neat that you can relate to it. He wanted the surroundings to be real more than his characters. These few and many more qualities didn't make Jehangir a 'first timer'.

Tit Bits of film 'Aa Dekhen Zara'

A three year old child performed the deadly stunt of jumping off an 80 ft high Ferris wheel. The team searched really hard to find such a young child to perform the stunt and luckily found one who had performed stunts earlier. The kid left everyone awe struck as he showed no sign of fear while performing the stunt, in fact he was enjoying it and giving re takes with ease .

The team of Aa Dekhen Zara was shooting at The Royal Palms Hotel at Goregaon when the terror attacks took place. A lot of the unit was headed towards South Mumbai after the shoot wrapped up. They were saved by timely sms’s from people. Neil who was shooting that night stayed on at the hotel instead of going home to Napeansea road which is very close to where the attacks took place.

Soon after the terror attacks the team was shooting an action sequence at Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Action director Shyam Kaushal tested a gun fire without the knowledge of the unit. Since the attack was so fresh in every one’s mind, most people froze in their tracks, thinking the terrorists were back again!

Neil, Bipasha & Rahul Dev were shooting a sequence for the film at Nishiland Water park in Khopoli. There was a crowd of close to 1600 people who had come to enjoy their Sunday at the amusement park. Their excitement knew no bounds when they found out that the stars were shooting so close by to them. The production had organized such unbreachable security that it did not matter whether the crowd was of 1600 or 16000 people. So much so that the stars didn’t even know that there was such a large crowd.

Bipasha Basu – the professional. Even though Bipasha’s knee was bothering her from a previous injury, she danced for a song in the film in Bangkok. She would rehearse all morning, shoot her part and then go back to the hotel she was staying at for her physiotherapy sessions.

Bipasha starts the trend of women with awesome abs. She worked out and made a special effort to get her body more in shape because her look in a song in the film demanded it.

A song in the film picturised on Bipasha Basu was shot at Sound City Recording Studio. The studio people loved the set up so much that the studio is now being renovated and redesigned to look just like it was in the song.

There was an ocean of crowds waiting for a glimpse of Bipasha Basu at an apartment complex in Mira Road where the unit was shooting. So much so that they waited up till 4 AM just to see her leave when the shoot wrapped up.

Gods to the rescue in Bangkok – Shooting continued despite heavy rains. The entire Bangkok crew was praying in temples (the locals) following Thai rituals to appease the Gods for a break from the rains..

Neil follows the family footsteps – Neil continues the family tradition and croons in 'Aa Dekhen Zara'.. composed by … (we can use this story at the time of actual recording…can do on location in the studio with select channels and photographers present at the time of recording)

Strippers as dancers – Real strippers were used to authenticate the scene in one of the songs while shooting in Bangkok, where a major chunk of the film has been shot.

Car chase – Hair raising car chase sequence shot in Bangkok

Duty calls – well known action director Sham Kaushal shot one of the killer action sequences despite having just recovered from a heart attack

Professionalism that is Rahul Dev – The unit of 'Aa Dekhen Zara' was very impressed with the actor’s dedication who had to visit his wife in India who is suffering from cancer and was back in Bangkok within two days to continue with the shoot

Real cops playing reel cops – With 'Aa Dekhen Zara', the producers have tried to maintain maximum authenticity to the extent that they shot with real cops along with their weapons for some scenes...Neil almost removed one of the weapons..

'Aa Dekhen Zara' on the highway – Traffic actually came to a standstill in Bangkok for a couple of days as there were same chase sequences shot with Neil running wild in the streets of Bangkok

Shooting in treacherous waters – With some scintillating action scenes shot in 'Aa Dekhen Zara', there are stories galore about what the crew experienced during the shoots...For a boat scene shot under the famous Ramanith bridge, they ended up changing not one, not two but three boats for an action sequence having Neil and Rahul Dev. There wasn’t enough space in the first, no permission in the second and finally getting lucky with the third!

Gender bender with 'Aa Dekhen Zara' – The 'Aa Dekhen Zara' shoot in Bangkok was an all mix crew, a complete assortment with gays, transvestites and even a transsexual as production controller...some gender bender this...

'Aa Dekhen Zara' explores Bangkok night life – most of the action thriller 'Aa Dekhen Zara' has been shot across real locations rather than sets to maintain authenticity

A friendly gesture – after the fantastic month long Bangkok schedule, there was much bonhomie established between the actors and crew...Neil ended up actually gifted some real thoughtful gifts to people on the sets including a walkie talkie for his co-star Bipasha and a microphone for the director.

Sophie a surprise package – impresses all with her scenes

Neil in Aa Dekhen Zara

Bipasha in Aa Dekhen Zara