For actor Nalneesh Neel, who was last seen as the speech-impaired servant of Amitabh Bachchan in Gulabo Sitabo and also a Bhartendu Natya Akademi (BNA) alumni, struggle for recognition has finallly come to an end.
Nalneesh, known for his small but noticeable roles in films like Chichhorey, Shuddh Desi Romance, Veerappan, Raees, and Fukrey Returns, hails from a small village near Bisalpur in Pilibhit. The journey for the Chichhorey actor to tinsel town was not that easy. “I was awestruck by Bollywood since childhood and the passion grew stronger day by day. So finally I decided to enroll for local theatre in Shahjahanpur,” says Nalneesh, adding, “After getting a fair amount of exposure, I came to know that Rajpal Yadav dada also hailed from Shahjahanpur. Then there was no stopping for me and I enrolled in Bhartendu Natya Akademi, Lucknow. That was the turning point of my life. Not only it did it make me a better actor, it also helped in my overall personality development. It provided me the necessary skills to survive in Mumbai,” says he.
Amitabh Bachchan and Nalneesh in a scene from Gulabo Sitabo (BCCL)
He adds, “I learned so much from theatre veterans in the city like late Jugal Kishore sir, Urmil Thapliyal sir and Suryamohan Kulshreshta sir, among others. And after working on my craft, I headed to Mumbai with a few thousand of borrowed cash and the rest is history.”
Talking about how he got selected for the Big B and Ayushmann Khurrana starrer, Gulabo Sitabo, he shares, “I have played one of the three main leads in the film Bhor which has already been to many film festivals and is expected to release soon. Shoojit (Sircar) sir was impressed with my role in it so he called me for the audition. And after two auditions I was lucky enough to be a part of the film,” he says.
Recalling his experience of working with Amitabh Bachchan, which is based in Lucknow, Nalneesh says, “All actors dream of working with Amitabh sir and I am lucky to have worked with him twice already. I worked with sir in an advertisement earlier but the interaction started this time when I went for a script reading session of Gulabo Sitabo at his bungalow. Later, when the shoot was going in Lucknow, we spent 45 days together. I learnt so much from him during that time. I also learned the discipline and professionalism he shows on the sets. He even guided me in many scenes, which proves he is a good human being too,” says Nalneesh with reverance.