Neil Mukesh, grand-son of the legendary singer Mukesh, is making his debut as a leading man this week. He gets candid about his melodious lineage with Subhash K Jha.

Why have you retained your grandfather's name instead of the family title Mathur?
Actually, my father who's also a singer called himself Nitin Mukesh. I saw absolutely no harm in continuing with that tradition. In fact it's a name I'm proud of and don't mind flaunting it at all. It's sad that my grandfather died eight years before I was born in 1982.

But I grew up hearing stories about him. His shadow looms large over our family. I spend a lot of time with my grandmother who stays in the same building as we do.

While we occupy the first floor, Dadee stays on the seventh floor. As a child I'd look forward to weekends. Every Friday my sister and I would rush to her floor. And since there was no school on Saturday and Sunday we were allowed to sleep with her.

She would tell us so many stories about my grandfather, his friendship with Raj Uncle (Raj Kapoor). I'd stare at the pictures of my gradfather and Raj Uncle and at the Filmfare trophies lined up on her shelf, hoping that one day I'd get one too.

Didn't you want to be a singer like your grandfather?
The call was mine. ...I do sing and I play the piano. But I don't have the discipline to be half as good as my grandfather. Even today my father does his riyaaz. My gradfatther was an actor in the early part of his career. And I've watched his films.

Once I made up my mind to be an actor my father made sure that I watched and studied the old Hindi classics. I also assisted Kunal Kohli at Yashraj Films to learn about filmmaking.

Yash Uncle (Chopra) and Aditya Chopra were like guardians. It's not true that today's generation doesn't know much about old films. My friends like Hrithik and Uday Chopra are very clued into cinema.

Your debut film is called Johnny and your next project is called Tera Kya Hoga Johnny? What's with this Johnny fixation?
I may end up doing a remake of Johnny Mera Naam, ha ha. You won't believe this. But Johnny has been a childhood doppelganger. I have always found that name really cool. And when I signed my first film it was called Johnny Gaddar. Sadly I don't play the title role in either of my two films.

Why weren't you launched at Yashraj Films?
I wanted to get my debut legitimately, prove myself worthy of working with them and then wait for them to sign me.Yash Uncle mentioned Johnny Gaddar to me the other day. For him to see my debut film would be a dream come true.

Johnny Gaddar isn't a conventional launch?
No. I always wanted to start with a character that would prove my worth as an actor. Everyone expected me to follow my grandfather and father's vocation. If I was going into acting I better be damn good at it.

For my debut I wasn't interested in showcasing my muscles and face. I wanted to be recognized as an actor straightaway in my first film.

How was it working with the veteran Dharmendra in your first film?
The minute he heard Mukesh's grandson had been signed in a film with him, Dharam Uncle invited me home to put me at ease. My grandfather sang some of his best songs like Guzra zamana bachpan ka and Baharon ne mera chaman loot kar for Dharam Uncle.

The minute I walked in to his house he hugged me and held my hand. I suddenly felt I had met my grandfather through Dharam Uncle.

Throughout the shooting of Johnny Gaddar he supported and encouraged me.

Sometimes he'd turn to ask me if he had done a shot right, just to make me less nervous. On the first day of shooting he just put his hand out for me during the shot. We'd chat for hours about my grandfather, and how he gave playback for Dharamji's first film.

How was it working with an unconventional director like Sriram Raghavan in your first film?
The minute I heard the script I fell in love with my character.People don't want conventional films anymore. I'm a trained dancer.And I've performed on stage with my father. But I'd rather save my conventional abilities for later.

Do you sing your grandfather or father's songs?
(sheepishly) Actually I like Kishore Kumar's songs. They're more lively more 'me'. Of course my grandfather didn't sing just serious songs. But even his light songs are very difficult for me to hum. Kishore songs are my style.