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I am tired of being politically correct |
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Written by admin
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Wednesday, 10 October 2007 |
By: Sarita Tanwar, October 9, 2007
Not all Monday mornings are dull. A little hot chai and some cool conversation can make all the difference. It’s 11 am at John Abraham’s terrace flat at Bandstand and the actor is engrossed in the India-Australia one-dayer. He puts the tele on mute and settles down for a long overdue chat. When John’s in the mood to talk, he doesn’t hold back. Here John talks about doing the kind of cinema he believes in, charging 6 crore for a film and yes, Salman Khan. Read on…
You’ve been underground? Out of sight, out of mind, don’t you agree?
Yeah, partly I do agree. I was not in town for a long time. I was in London for two and a half months. And then in Pondicherry. I have come back a month ago and I am doing nothing. I am dubbing and I am dumb-belling, that’s all.
It was believed that you shied away from public glare to avoid discussions on Bipasha. Most couples do that when there’s too much speculation… Like Shahid and Kareena right now. Comment.
No, I don’t think either Bipasha or I made an overt attempt to withdraw from the media.
Bipasha was always accessible. You weren’t.
Bipasha being accessible or me being accessible — I assume — stands for the same thing, as one represents the other. I guess when there was an issue happening, I sorted it out from Pondicherry.
Were you at all affected by all the rumours about Saif and Bipasha?
Not at all. Had I been, I would not have been in such good shape and smiling right now. Yes, there have been phases where I have kind of let myself sink into a place where I deliberately got bogged down because of the roles that I was doing. I am an actor who needs all external factors. Once Mahesh Bhatt had said to me, ‘If you keep getting into your roles so deeply, you will kill yourself.” And that’s exactly what I nearly did with Nagesh’s Aashayein.
In what way?
I had to lose about 15 kilos for the film. I had to sink completely into what I was doing. So, partly, I was inaccessible for about a month-and-a-half because of my character. But since I have been in Mumbai, I am making up for lost time.
About Aashayein…
I’d to say that a film like this comes to an actor once in a lifetime. It’s like Anupam Kher had Saaransh. I don’t think I would have the energy to go through the emotions ever again. And even if I did, I think I would take a break from my acting career for six to eight months for a film like this because it has really taken a toll on me. Not just physically, mentally and emotionally as well.
Which is why you shut the world out while shooting the film?
Yes, in a way. Mentally, the character required me to completely switch off and stay away. I became a recluse for about almost two months. I was cut away from my family… from everybody. Until the last week of the film. I needed that space for myself.
That must’ve bothered your family and your girlfriend.
Oh yes, My family, Bipasha, they were all stressed. My mom was of course worried about my weight. She said, ‘you can’t keep losing weight like this. You look sick’ I told her, ‘Mom, I am supposed to look sick. Bipasha told me, ‘if you cut yourself off like this, a lot of people around you are going to get upset’. I told her that I know that is going to happen but I have to shut myself off if I have to get this character right. The character is over and done with. I am happy it is gone. And I hope I can mend bridges with people who I’d hurt. This role has caused a lot of pain.
You’ve got No Smoking and Goal ready for release. Any worries?
No. I am supremely confident about the scripts I have chosen. Supremely confident about the products I have seen. Very happy. Goal: I haven’t had the opportunity to see because there is still time for the release. I have seen the first half and it works for me like magic and I am very happy. The second half has to be better than the first. I haven’t seen it yet. But Bipasha has seen it and she can vouch for it. No Smoking, of course I have seen what I have dubbed for. I haven’t seen the film in entirety, but if you ask me, Anurag Kashyup is a genius, and I can close my eyes and tell you that No Smoking is a film that I am going to be very proud of.
Chak De! worked as it was about a teen team. Goal has an all middle-aged team. Cause for worry?
Not worried. That’s part of the film, it’s part of the script. It’s about Asian losers who are past their prime, who are trying to keep themselves going for a certain goal. And I think it works beautifully. In terms of characterisation, what I like about Goal is that every character has been taken care of in the script. It’s not hero-centric.
You sound very confident about Goal
At the end of the day there are two things I can do right. One is ride a bike, the other is play football. Riding a bike, I’ve done in Dhoom, and now you will see me playing football. If kids like it, then it will work. And I think kids will like what I have done with the ball. I have actually juggled, done scissor kicks and the bicycle kick, all without a cut. So the audience will not feel cheated. It is not anyone else. It is John Abraham doing it.
No Smoking looks very dark, do you think the audience is ready for that kind of cinema?
A lot of people ask me how the film has shaped up. I tell them I am not worried about how it finally looks, my only point of discussion is, whether the audience is ready for this kind of a film. After watching the film — whatever I have seen of it — I can say that it is as commercial as commercial can be. There is a lot of dark humour. You will laugh your guts out in certain scenes. People who’d seen the script tell me, ‘This has turned out to be very different from what we read. This is lighter than we’d expected it to be. It’s very entertaining. It’s very fast-paced and it’s an hour and 58 minutes. It’s super.
You are getting tagged as a star of semi-commercial cinema. Why no biggies?
I am doing a film with Karan’s production. I am working in that set-up too. But I am not making a conscious attempt to work with the biggies or with different kind of films for any specific reason. It’s just that when I like the script, I agree to do the film, irrespective of who is making it. I am happy I am doing Karan’s film but at the same time, fortunately or unfortunately, I like Anurag Kashyap , Sriram Raghavan, Imtiaz Ali, Nagesh Kukunoor.
But isn’t commerical success important?
I am doing Sriram’s film next; that is commercial and so is Karan’s film. I am doing both kinds of films — so I know that the biggies who release films with 800-1000 prints will stay there. And will probably grow incrementally. But the ‘smallies’ who release about 300 prints will exponentially. And I have decided to stick my foot in and say, I am going to this kind of cinema because I believe in it. There is a bleeding period and I have told all my producers and directors to be prepared for that. Accept that the audience will take time to warm to this kind of cinema but two years down the line, it will change. These 200 prints will touch a 1000.
An item song was added to No Smoking at the last moment to up the film’s ‘commercial’ quotient?
To be honest, yes. The item song was added to make the film more commercially viable. And it’s to tell the audience that this film — because of the way it sounds, because of the maker — is not an art film. Kumar Mangat is a seasoned producer. He decided to add this song because it works in sync with the film. It’s not an item number because it is one of my dreams which happens in the film, so it’s very much a part of the script.
The Goal promos started with a bang and then were abruptly removed. Is it because the producers wanted the Chak De! euphoria to die down, because they are both similar films?
When the media plans for Goal were made, they were specifically made in two phases. The first phase got over by the 27th of Spetember, and the second phase has started just now (from the fourth of October). That was always the plan. Goal was supposed to be released earlier, but now will release on November 23 simply because there are so many artistes. We still haven’t completed the dubbing of the film.
Don’t you think that had Goal released before Chak De! India, it would’ve been better?
I really don’t think it matters when Goal releases. The fact that they are both sport films, is great. I’d say that Chak De’s success has worked in our benefit. The difference between Chak De! and Goal is that football is a bigger ‘star’ than hockey and that is going to help us. Chak De! had Shah Rukh at the helm of affairs so it made a lot of difference. In Goal, we are banking on the fact that football is a more popular game. It’s something we expect children and families to like.
Lets talk about your problem with Arshad…
Arshad and I had issues but they were all creative differences. We didn’t agree on the creative aspects from time to time during the shooting of the film but we used to sit and discuss. But at no point of time did we have personal problems. I would say if there is anything that has translated into Arshad and me having a problem, it is true because we had issues about the script. He would want things a certain way and I’d want them in another way, So those problems existed. If our body language suggested that we had a problem, then it has been miscommunicated. Till today Arshad is in touch with me and I’d give my right hand to work with him again. He’s superb.
And Bipasha’s problem with Arshad was linked to you?
No, no. Bipasha’s problem was that Arshad landed up late on the set one day, and she’d reached early that day. So that’s their own problem, and that has nothing to do with my problem with Arshad.
How’s your equation with Salman now? When asked about you, he says, ‘John Abraham who?’
Salman has always been an actor who I’ve enjoyed watching on screen. But I am tired of being politically correct and I am not going to be politically correct. But all I will say is that on one hand it doesn’t bother me that he has a problem with me. On the other hand, I wish there was no problem because I feel it is unnecessary. I think you can do without this problem. Having said that, let me say that I appreciate the fact that Salman has the honesty to make his dissent towards me open. If more actors were like that, it would be healthier. I think, intrinsically, there is something nice about Salman but I don’t understand what problem he has with me.
Have you tried to sort out the problem?
No. But even today, if I see Salman, I will go and say hello to him. It’s his prerogative if he wants to reciprocate. I can’t force him. At the same time, there is a certain amount of self-respect that each person has, I have come up with a lot of dignity in this industry and I stand by my principles and my beliefs. Also, in retrospect, now that everything is over and done with, I don’t think Salman would have a problem with me now. Of if he does, I will be surprised.
Shahid and you had a problem too...
Completely untrue. I mean with Salman, I would say that yes, there was a problem that existed. The fact that I did not know what the problem was, is different. But there was a problem. But about Shahid, it is completely untrue.
Kareena called you an expressionless actor. Comment.
I don’t pay attention to such things. I mean each one has their opinions.. It doesn’t matter to me.
Producers complain that you demand too high a price. You are said to be charging 6 crore now. Is that true?
I could be charging more than 6 crores… |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 18 February 2008 )
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