Article by John Abraham, 4 Jan, 2010

At the onset, let me thank all my friends and well-wishers who sent me birthday wishes. It hasn't been possible to thank them individually, and a machine-generated mail hardly seems adequate.

So here I am apologizing for my tardiness, and thanking all of you profusely for your wishes, mails, cards and gifts. I have taken a short sabbatical, and am enjoying the passage of time.

I have begun to see time with new eyes. As my career progresses, my beginnings move further into the distance, and that is when I realize where I was, and how far I have come.

I have been staying with my parents since I returned from London. My house is still under renovation. It appears to be stuck in a parallel universe where time moves much slower than for the rest of us. Still, under my brother's stern eye, the contractors seem to be edging along.

So here I am back with my parents, in the same room where I stayed before I could afford my own place. These past days have been a snapshot of my past and helped me reconnect with my family. They have also brought the realization of how difficult I must have been as a son. My mother has had to bear the brunt of my mood swings through the pain and rejections of the early days. It gives me a look at the last ten years that I have lost with my family, while I tried to build a life.

There should be time to mend some ties, before I go back to work in the spring. Two great movies, Dostana and New York have happened to me during the past two years. I'm proud of them both. I have realized the need to step back and reflect on what has passed and I see that it is necessary to stop working for a while, to be able to do better work.

After New York, I have become more discerning with the roles I play. Cinema should be intelligent and also entertaining. One cannot take precedence over the other. Looking back at my career, I can say, at best, that I was honest to the character that I played. But that is not enough. It's important to play the characters well. The passage of time does wonders for an actor's career. What once was difficult, becomes easy. What was easy, becomes beautiful.

The passage of time has seen the industry mature too. And putting aside the bitterness and disappointments of the past, I thank those in my industry who took a chance on me and stood by me.

Golda Meir once said to somebody, “Don't be so humble. You are not that great.” And I've begun to understand the same is true for all of us. We learn every day that we are not that great, and perhaps our success comes from a certain arrogance born of that humility.

I can safely say today that I have been accepted by an industry where I once was an outsider. However I am now the one person who can welcome outsiders to that same industry. If I can make it, so can they. I take that with me as I move into another year. And to the films that the future holds.