John Abraham, by his own admission, loves experimenting with different genres of films. Be it Jism, Vicky Donor, Garam Masala, Madras Cafe or his next, an untitled film on bike racing, John has tried it all. However, lately the actor has mostly been seen in patriotic films such as Parmanu, Satyameva Jayate and now Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW). “ I have always been going against the trend. The idea is to set a trend and not follow it. I have done patriotic films and now I am making a film on bike racing. So, it depends on your perception,” says the actor about his choice of projects.
John has been a familiar face in the industry for the last 15 years and says he is in a “very happy space now”. Says the 46-year-old, “Someone recently told me— ‘John, you are not competing with anyone. You have created your own space, you operate in your own world and you seem happy and seems like you rule there’. I instantly replied ‘that’s what exactly I wanted to do’. I have always wanted to create a space for myself and rule there. If you conform to a certain style and culture, you could land up in parties or in certain [Bollywood] camps. But I don’t understand that culture. It doesn’t exist in my head. I don’t go to my directors with my hands folded to give me a film because I believe I can create my own content. I am not saying that I do everything the best but when you go to see a JA entertainment film, you’ll know what I am talking about.”
John who started out with Jism in 2003 has now moved on to making his own films. “I want to create different stories that the audience will enjoy. I am not here to do Rs 100 crore or Rs 200 crore film. My content may not be the best but I am trying to do different kinds of stories. I am not on social media informing people about what I am up to all the time. There are so many social media stars these days. What have they really done in movies that has actually impacted cinema? The answer would probably be nothing. It’s easy to do different exercises and shoot myself bare-bodied and then upload the pictures on social media. But I want my work to speak for myself and for me RAW and Batla House will make that difference,” he elucidates.
While John hopes to create impressionable content, he doesn’t find any credibility in film awards that are held annually. “I have zero respect for awards barring the National Award. They give titles like social media and internet star. How can anyone accept such an award? We have paan masalas endorsing these awards.
Where has our credibility gone? If you ask me, ‘was Parmanu worthy of any award?’ I believe it was but they didn’t nominate me because I disrespect such things. I have no issues when others go for it but at the end of the day, it’s a lifestyle choice. If you want to dance at weddings and awards, go for it,” says the actor.
RAW is said to be a spy thriller set against the Indo-Pak War of 1971 and is inspired by true events. When asked if he enjoys doing films based on national events John is quick to say, “RAW is not a stereotypical patriotic film. When you watch the trailer you will wonder whether he’s a spy or a traitor. The film just happened by default and not by design. I never plan anything. I work on scripts that appeal to me. But yes, I am an Indian and love my country and I’m patriotic at heart. But I am doing Pagalpanti next, which is an out-an-out comedy. As an actor, if there are certain scripts I like, I will ensure that I work on them. When I read the script of RAW and Batla House it blew my mind. Pagalpanti was something that I liked as well.
I have worked with Anees Bazmee earlier so I agreed on to do the film.” On his experience as a producer in Bollywood, John says the audience is attracted to real stories and that’s why his films do well at the box office.“You could call it a cliché but the audience is attracted to real stories. They enjoy real stories because fact is stranger than fiction. It’s easier to present something that’s real, rather than concoct something. Director Robbie Grewal’s father was in intelligence bureau and he knew these incidents. The decoding machines to lie detectors everything is for real. But let me clarify that the film is not here to educate, but to entertain. Whatever we have depicted in the film (RAW) is done with permission from the authorities.”
After RAW, John will gear up to shoot the next leg of Pagalpanti. “The film is a roller-coaster ride. You won’t rest for a minute from laughter. We finished shooting the first schedule within one-and-a-half months and the next will start soon. It’s a family film and we had great fun on the sets despite the weather and the storm and everything being blown away. Everybody right from Anil Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla, Illeana D’Cruz were shivering but we were all sitting on the sets and laughing,” he beams.