This is John's OFFICIAL website. The webmaster of this site has said MANY times that John has NO genuine profiles (as yet) on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Orkut etc. Anyone on these sites saying they are John (and there are several!) are impostors, so please beware. Don't get duped by such people. I mean, how big a LOSER do you have to be to pretend to be someone else just to get friends? LOL!! Seriously though, this is a BIG problem. There are at least TWO fake Johns on Twitter, plus many more on Facebook and Myspace. So please be careful who you 'friend'. Vxx
First let me say 'hats off' to John for his bold and 'unsafe' choices. If Dostana was a frothy frappe then THIS is double espresso - dark, edgy and adult. And his tormented, embittered Sam is about as far from the fun-loving Kunal as it's possible to get! In fact, anyone saying that John can't act after this simply does NOT know what they are talking about.
The stand-out sequence is, of course, the prison. John is superb throughout - his face showing every nuance of horror, disbelief, fear and despair. The torture scenes are harrowing, but it is in the quieter moments that he truly shines - when they shear off his hair and he weeps in silent humiliation and later, crammed into the 'dog box' where, having pounded on it and screamed himself hoarse, he falls into the sleep of utter exhaustion.
In the scenes that follow, we are presented with a man broken - his coltish swagger gone, his soul blighted. Renewed by love and purpose, he recovers, but is forever changed - his heart hardened, his beauty tinged with frost rather than sunshine.
I really wish I could elaborate on the many other excellent moments in this film but I can't without giving away the plot (and there has been QUITE enough of that going on in the press reviews - jeez!). Suffice to say there is one "HOLY HELL!" moment in the second half which even I (a seasoned 'twist-spotter') did NOT see coming!!
Kabir Khan is a superb technician, so the film, as you would expect, is well paced and LOOKS wonderful - the music excellent and well integrated. Katrina is very good - sympathetic and meltingly lovely (and trounces all memory of the terrible actress in Kabul Express). Irrfan is at his enigmatic best and has some great dry quips which raise a chuckle. Neil is superb - a fine young actor for everyone to keep their eye on. The film would have suffered greatly without the sensitivity and depth he brings to his character.
To sum up - with Obama bringing all the torture allegations out into the open and closing Guantanamo, this film comes at exactly the right time - bang on topical and thought-provoking. I will definitely be buying the DVD!
Very best wishes for a speedy recovery, dearest John. I know how strong and fit you are so I'm confident you'll bounce back very soon. In the meantime, get plenty of rest and let that bone heal properly. Sending TONS of healing thoughts your way, my darling. Take care. Thinking of you, as always. Oceans of love to you. Vxx
Well, we all knew it was going to be a winner didn't we, and oh MY, is it EVER!! I absolutely LOVED this film, mainly because it is LONG overdue. Don't get me wrong - I respect and admire John's choices in that he's prepared to push the envelope with experimental roles (indeed, despite all the eye-candy, THIS one is pretty groundbreaking too), but frankly, for sheer, feel-good entertainment, you can't beat glamour, sex appeal and a damn good laugh - and this film has it all. Imagine going on a vibrant, exotic holiday with three gor-JUS, vivacious friends. You wouldn't want it to end, would you? Well, that's what viewing Dostana feels like.
I won't bore you with the plot - I mean, who doesn't know it? But rather than a 'rom-com' I'd say it's a 'com-rom' in that all the comedy (and what fantastic, gut-busting comedy it IS!) is in the first half and all the romance is in the second. (In fact, my ONLY carp would be that after the utter brilliance of the first hour, the second half seems a little deflated by comparison.)
Some reviewers have said they thought the film caricatured and offensive to the gay community. Well I didn't, nor did the gay friend who accompanied me. Yes, there ARE a few over-the-top characters, but no worse than ones I've seen portrayed in 'Will & Grace' for example. (But I suppose with a subject this touchy it's bound to upset someone.)
But enough of that. Let's talk John. Ah Johnny, John, John - what can I say about our darling? Well, for John fans, just the first TEN MINUTES of this film are pure gold dust - worth the ticket price on their own! Frankly, he has never looked so good. He is the sun god Apollo - gilded and mercurial, breathtakingly handsome and brimming with laughter and mischief. His comic timing is superb, as is his chemistry with the rest of the cast. It's just so refreshing to see him revelling in his sensuality - and that body is delicious - drawn steel dipped in gold, enough to make one weep with desire. I could watch him sprint, semi clad, across the shimmering sand all freakin' day - and once I have the DVD I fully intend to!!
And the others? Well, Priyanka is an absolute doll, and when you can act and joke as well as Abhishek you really don't need to flash any flesh. Bobby too is right on the money - very suave and elegant, and Boman Irani had us crying with laughter! The surprise ending? Well, it didn't surprise ME but I'm a worldly old woman, so I'll say no more - LOL!!!
To sum up - Dostana is a delight - a glass of sparkling tropical juice after a LONG thirst!! Go and see it - NOW! (You KNOW you want to!) Vxx
The dictionary defines a muse as 'the person or power regarded as inspiring a poet, artist, thinker, or the like'. Well, having just completed my tenth drawing of John in the last two years, I think I can safely say he is mine. (I confess that two out of those ten attempts were utterly disastrous, but I suppose that's what's known as a 'learning curve' - LOL!)
When I was working full time, I was able to draw just one picture a year - my Christmas card. Now that I work from home I have the freedom to indulge myself. John came along at exactly the right time. I've spoken before about how much he inspires me - more so than I ever thought possible. These days I'm more prolific than I have been for years - since my teens in fact. And it's all down to the 'John effect' - remarkable!
Of course, I've admired other actors in the past - Russell Crowe, Chow Yun Fat, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson - and I did draw each of them at least once, but I found their individual looks very limiting with regard to subject matter. For example, Crowe is so rugged and distinctive that he can only work in specific settings. There's NO WAY I could've drawn him wearing the ornate green and gold coat that John sported on my 'Enchanted Winter' Christmas card!
John's looks, by contrast, are extremely versatile - modern yet timeless. He has a natural glamour and is so wildly handsome that he can fit almost any guise - Persian prince, forest spirit, warrior saint. He is able to appear rugged and manly one moment, youthful or mischievous the next. (Indeed, it baffles me when I hear people describe him as 'expressionless'. Are they BLIND?) His exotic beauty allows me to indulge my love of mythology - from supernatural being to fallen angel to Kivioq, the Eternal Wanderer of Inuit legend - John's face always fits. I adore the way his right eye squints up smaller than the left one when he smiles, and that lop-sided grin of his - crazy delicious. Some might call these quirks 'flaws' but, in MY experience, such things save a face from being bland and unremarkable. Too soon the eye wearies of perfection.
As for John's body, well that helps enormously too! He is Michelangelo's David, as graceful and muscular as a racehorse or jungle cat. I adore him for the same reasons fashion designers do - the long, clean lines of his body enable me to gratify my love of costume. I know I can dress him in just about anything and he'll always carry it off. I love the adventurousness that allows me.
So, there you have it - why John is my perfect muse. There is no end as yet to the list of projects I have in mind for him. He is an eternal inspiration and delight. Truly, an artist's dream. Vxx
Hello John, my dearest darling,
You may know this already, but I was twelve the year you were born. I've often wondered what I was doing on that chilly December day, way out there in the English countryside. Rehearsing for the school's Christmas play no doubt, or decorating our trashy silver tree with its weird petrol-blue tinsel.
Whatever it was, neither of us would know of the other's existence for another thirty years.
Glorious boy, you've made such an impact on my life - given me such delight and inspiration, brought me so much glamour and excitement, made me feel SO special. I love you like my dearest friend, and I WILL love you to my last breath and I don't care who knows it - because you didn't have to do ANY of the things you've done for me, not ONE thing, but you did, and that's what makes YOU special.
Have a wonderful, gor-JUS birthday, my darling, you deserve it. You're the handsomest, truest and best of the bunch.
Venetia xxxxxx
