Emotions flare up and many hold a grudge against the person who bashes up their favourite hero on screen. Often, they give it back to the villain when given a chance. But how are those at the receiving end taking it? “I hold no grudge against such people. In fact, I take it as a good rating of my performance,” says John Kokken, the villain in ‘Love in Singapore’ directed by Rafi MeCartin with Mammootty in the lead.
The actor went throughsuch an experience while watching the movie’s premiere at Krupa theatre, Thiruvananthapuram.
“When I was leaving after the first show got over, my car was stopped and I was abused by a couple of movie goers.” Reason? In the film, John plays Rahul, a boxing champ who in one particular scene, bashes up Mammootty! “It’s the first time ever that I am acting with such a great actor. I was thrilled yet nervous. But the reaction of the moviegoers has instilled confidence in me,” says the model-turnedactor who is based in Mumbai.
John started his career at Grand Maratha Sheraton in Mumbai after a degree in hotel management. He caught the attention of the fashion world after a modelling assignment came his way. “They needed a model for the hotel brochure. Initially, I was not very keen but when customers at the hotel mistook me for a model, I thought of giving it a shot,” says the 6 foot 2 inch actor who has been into kick-boxing and karate for nine years.
But he knew looks alone wouldn’t suffice to survive in the industry. “The first thing I had to do was trim down. I was too muscular to be a model and my vital statistics were on the higher side. But I was fortunate to work with designers who made clothes to suit my size,” says the 27-year-old. When he walked the ramp with big names in modelling such as Shaver Ali, Aryan Ved and Sulfi Sayed, John stood out for his big build. He got the opportunity to work with bigwigs in the industry including Amir Adnan, Narendra Kumar and Vikram Phadnis for their fashion shows.
The turning point in his modelling career was the Gladrags fashion show at Mauritius in 2003. John was one of the top ten finalists (“I just loved the one week paid vacation at the scenic beaches”).
Soon, modelling assignments came his way for Bombay Dyeing, Cadbury Bites and SBI. This led to his tryst with Mollywood in ‘Kalabham’ which had Navya Nair and Bala in the lead.
“I was raw and didn’t have a clue about acting when ‘Kalabham’ came my way,” says John. Though the film didn’t go down well among moviegoers, directors took note of John. A chance meeting with actor Geeta Vijayan led him to director Rafi who was in search of a youngster who could pull off the role of a Singapore-born Malayali.
A Mammootty fan from childhood, John was elated. “Though I was brought up in Mumbai, we never missed the Sunday movie on TV especially the ones with the superstars of Malayalam.” What John enjoyed most on the sets of ‘Love in Singapore’ (other than the food that Mammootty brought from home for the entire crew) was the guidance that the star gave him. “I had to do a number of risky scenes which wouldn’t have been possible without the stunt lessons.” John captured hearts with his dancing skills in a song sequence in the film which was mostly shot in Singapore.
In addition to doing a handful of commercials, John is at present busy shooting for ‘IG’ directed by B Unnikrishnan with Suresh Gopi in the lead.
“I play a terrorist in the movie.” John is taking stunt lessons from none other than Thyagarajan for his role in the film. ‘IG’ is slated for a Vishu release.
John has been getting offers from Tamil and Telugu as well. “But right now, I want to concentrate on Malayalam.
I prefer the subtle way of acting that’s unique to Malayalam movies.”
jijicherian16@gmail.com