Completely agree . I have watched both Karol Bagh and Gulaal and one can see his growth from show to show .Neil is a good actor definitely. I have seen his Karol bhag. He was 23 or something at that time. Abhi is this husband who is 8 years younger to his wife, but he has to behave matured. His mom in that shows tells the same. Abhi has always been so mature for his age from his childhood. Neil brought that out sooo well.
The FL( his wife)'s younger sisters are older to him but the way he handles them is so endearing. Being friendly, yet showing his status as their elder BIL. Even as husband, he is a kid infront of his sacrificial wife who is 8 years older to him, but he puts his foot down and makes decisions.
I think roles like these bring out the acting because you have to convince the viewers as a matured man of 30 being in body of 22!!
Gulaal is much easier I thought. Because he was 22 in mind, body and actions. Though, as the director of the show once said to make this BIL and SIL chemistry show up without cringe factor is extremely difficult. Mansi and Neil both did amazingly well. There are scenes where his thoughts wander around lust, no wonder his age was like that, but how controlled they were!! Not once I felt cringe. Eventually you root for them to become one. His character arc, though spanned only for 7 months or so, had full growth.
Now in Ghum, it is reverse. He has much younger wife and he has be matured one in their marriage, the nurturer. However, he shows his vulnerabilites so well. He becomes so immaturish in front of Sai, in a believable way. To show such nuances is difficult. Both Ayesha and Neil showed how a married couple grow over time. Good actors capture these progressions well. I see that in both Neil and Ayesha. 👍🏼
Bottom line is yes I think Neil is a good actor, if given the right content with good directors.
In Gulaal , my favorite scene is the ending one where you could see in that 2 minute that Kesar is all grown up now and Neil brought it out so well . IMO Gulaal is the toughest show to be made and also for the actors to portray such complicated characters . I am glad the show was on when SM was not toxic . Kesar goes through varied of emotions when he was with Gulaal and it’s a challenge to portray such scenes because the relationship itself was so sensitive that any wrong move can make the scene cringe .
Neil nuances in ghum are so perfect . In pre leap we could see it in almost all Sairat scene and now I am seeing it’s back with Savi and Sai . Neil chemistry with Aria is top notch too . They look like real daughter and father .
