1 Johnny Gaddar
The actor made his debut with Sriram Raghavan's neo-noir thriller 'Johnny Gaddar'. His turn as the quiet killer making his way through a gang of thieves made audiences sit up and notice this new kid on the block.
2 New York
As the 'friend zoned' friend of Katrina and John, Neil put in a fine performance as a young man caught between betraying his friend as a terrorist and saving him from certain death. It was his first big hit since his debut and marked him for big things.
3 David
Underrated and lost in the flood of big releases that year, Bejoy Nambiar's David was a convoluted collection of 3 tales. As the orphaned son in a mafia drama, Neil Nitin Mukesh delivered an impeccable performance that had just the right balance of style and menace.