Neil shares his first on-screen kiss with Deepika

Deepika Padukone has kissed Saif Ali Khan on screen. But her new co-star Neil Nitin Mukesh was a first time kisser on camera till last week when Neil had no choice but to succumb to a torrid kissing sequence with Deepika. Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh have one thing in common. They both follow a no-kiss clause. Katrina broke her self-imposed bow of smooch-celibacy in New York.

Now the conservative Neil Nitin Mukesh has pulled out the plug on his no-kissing clause. For Yashraj Films Lafangey Parindey Neil was virtually forced to do a long lingering kissing scene with Deepika Padukone. Director Pradeep Sarkar and Deepika had to use every possible power of persuasion before Neil abandoned his chastity vow.

Says a source very close to the project, “At first, Neil was totally against the kiss with Deepika. Barring Katrina in New York with whom he had no opportunity for a kiss, Neil has refused to kiss in all his films. In fact, his first director Sriram Raghavan threw a fit when Neil refused to kiss Rimi Sen. In his second film Tera Kya Hoga Johnny director Sudhir Mishra insisted Neil to kiss Shahana Goswami. Neil refused. Even in Jail where there was a love-making scene with Mugda Godse Neil refused to kiss”.

Conservative to the core Neil plunged into his first kiss only after the director assured him that the romantic relationship needed a culmination. Says the source, “Pradeep persuaded Neil and he finally saw his director’s point of view. But Neil was nervous. Deepika had kissed before on screen. Not Neil. He first suggested a peck. But he was finally persuaded to do a long torrid smooch comparable in intensity and duration with Aamir Khan and Karisma Kapoor’s kiss in Raja Hindustani”.

When contracted Neil said, “I can’t talk about this. But yes we’ve gone completely by the requirements of the script. And Lafangey Parindey is my first love story”.