John Abraham Speaks

The quint essential good looking man who has captured and conquered a million hearts with his dimpled smile, goofy looks and most importantly his chiseled buttocks. From a supermodel to an actor and now a a producer, his journey has been a testament to the pinnacle of success which he has climbed upon today. After a host of alleged rumours, a series of flop films and few but strong adventurous ventures, here is the guy next door opening up to us exclusively. From a yellow swimming trunk to a sherwani and then to nothing, he has captivated the Indian eyes with his immensely gorgeous dressing sense and chic style. With his maiden production venture, ‘Vicky donor’, he has catapulted himself to the list of extensively marketed producers who not only make a good film but presents it well too. While there is enough buzz still doing the rounds about his next few films, we catch him up for a short tete-a-tete exclusively for our lovely readers. Presenting to you the Man of all Moments, John Abraham.

Passion, glamour, glitz, hard work, ability and expressions- A blend of which of the following do you see in a successful actor?

I think it should be a combination of all. You need all of it to be in the longer run. If anything is missing, you miss the success you deserve to get.

You produced the first film under your banner and the film ‘Vicky Donor’ worked wonders. So the expectations were sky high. Weren’t they?

No, I don’t think that the expectations were huge from any film that I have done because they are all experimental. So I really don’t worry about commercial success or failure. I am just restricted to doing a good job in whatever films I do. I don’t allow any pressure to be put on myself. Coming to ‘Vicky Donor’ I had it at the back of my mind that the film would do good. Finally when the response was so good, I felt we as a team had done our job.

You have romantic movies, thrillers, comedies and even action with Dhoom. But Dhoom was basically more on speed. So Force can be called the first action film that you did.

I have always been very keen to do raw action and we were all excited for the release of this film. This is the first time I have played such a role and I am very excited about it.

Your preparations for Force were incredible.

I have prepared a lot for this film and worked really hard for the role. (He made an eight pack for the movie) Moreover, I wanted to reach a position where people would be happy to see me in an action hero’s space. So, I am definitely excited about the audience seeing this film.

You reportedly picked up an entire bike which would be around 200 kilograms. Well that was simply mind boggling.

Ya, but I had to do that because that was a part of a scene in the movie and Yashvardhan, my character in the film is someone who is such a strong guy that he can pick up anything and throw. So he has this bike next to him which he picks up and immediately throws. (Laughs)

But you could definitely do it the easy way by using the harness which you didn’t.

No because this movie is very different from Dhoom. In Force it is all about real raw action. The character requires a more real space of Action. So there were times, because it was so heavy, I used to fall and get hurt. It was really very difficult for me to do action, the way I did it. But I somehow managed to get through this film where I really got hurt a lot in the process. At the end of the day, I guess it is the result that counts interesting.

You donned the character of the suave chor in Dhoom and in Force you played a sexy cop. How difficult or easy was it for you?

It was actually a lot more fun. I like being the cop and I like being the chor. In Race 2, I will again be a bad guy. Even in Shootout in Wadala, I am playing a negative role. So I like being good in some, bad in some and funny in some.

Jhootha Hi Sahi was critically acclaimed. But Vicky Donor gave you the necessary boost. How would you like to sum it up?

No, anything that is critically acclaimed but fails, will never give an actor a boost commercially. Jhootha Hi Sahi was a movie that was liked by some but was not seen by most. So how can you get any kind of success commercially from that as an actor? Each time a movie fails, you just need to work harder. But with Vicky donor, I was happy with the audience’s reactions. The core theme of the film was nice, quirky and the actors were fresh. So it was kind of a gamble which paid off well.

You have always different kinds of movies with different roles. Do you think taking such risks is beneficial since most of them did not click nicely?

I understand what you are saying but it is definitely important to take risks. I think regular is boring. I would also say that I would not be happy if I had to stay in commercial films every year. So I like doing different kinds of films.

Taking two fresh faces for your maiden venture was a huge risk too. But they fared extremely well. What would you like to say about your stars Ayushmann and Yami?

I would say that initially when I took them; even we knew that it was a risk on our ide. Not having a big budgeted actor might not work for many production houses but I love challenges. So I was confident with the way the film was shaping up. Plus the first day of the shoot echoed the statement that they are incredible actors. The way they have made the film look so good, I can only wonder. Both Ayushmann and Yami have done a terrific job. With Ayushmann, we are doing our second film too. Lets hope for the best there too.

One of your films that you loved doing.

I loved doing No Smoking and we are coming up with No Smoking: 2 very soon. (Smiles)

You even played a short cameo in Vishal Bharadwaj’s ‘7 Khoon Maaf’. What made you take up such a short role?

Well, I enjoyed that short role. It was fun doing it. Moreover, I had no intentions of to do or not to do it. I had few days off, so I did it.

Reportedly, there was fallout with Vishal Bharadwaj during the movie. Is that true?

No, no, no, that is completely untrue. There is no truth in that. I think he is such a fabulous director.

Dostana was such a big hit. Where is Dostana 2?

I don’t have any idea. Karan Johar is the best person who can answer you this question. I just hope it happens sooner than later.

Has any man ever hit on you post Dostana?

A lot of men have appreciated the fact that Dostana happened and they are thankful that we brought homosexuality to the front.

You recently had a break up. So has life post the break up been tough or easy?

I would say nothing has really changed. I am just taking each day as it comes.

You make million hearts beat to your smile. So is marriage or commitment on the cards?

Well, as of now, I am not even thinking about it. Not really at this point of time. I don’t know when it will happen. If it’s arranged then I don’t know when and where and how I will do it. It can happen any day if it’s an arranged marriage. But if it has to be love marriage then I don’t know exactly when it will happen.

What are the other projects that you have signed?

I am working on I, Me aur Main and then there is Shootout at Wadala. Plus, I am all set to don’t eh role of the bad man in Race 2!

After the huge success of ‘Vicky Donor’, what can we expect from John Abraham Productions?
Well, we are coming up with another film which again stars Ayushmann Khurrana and is titled ‘Humara Bajaj’. That would also be directed by Shoojit (Sircar who directed Vicky donor) and is a quirky yet fun film. I wish everyone enjoys this one too.

So you share a better chemistry with your male co-stars than your female co-stars. Do you agree?

Yes, I do. It might sound unusual but I have an amazing working rapport with all my male co-stars be it Abhishek, Akshay, Govinda, Vidyut, everyone!

Akshay is the ultimate Action hero of Bollywood. He is the Khiladi, as we call him and your best friend. So did you take any tips from him?

Akshay has given me only one tip. He told me, “take Saturdays and Sundays off and work only eight hours a day. That way you will be very healthy”

So how was it working with Akshay Kumar again (Housefull 2 and Desi Boyz) after Garam Masala?

It was great working with Akshay. He is a lot of fun. He is an easy person to work with and he is a good man. Whenever we work together, there is a mutual liking for each other be it our body of work or ideals, everything is respected and understood by the two of us.