John’s on a roll

A DISTINGUISHED-LOOKING LADY complimented John Abraham's sharp business intellect as we trundled into a harshly-lit suite on the 32nd floor of the beautifully decked out Intercontinental Hotel. And one is compelled to agree as the actor wittily summarises his take on the economic situation of a crumbling world in response to the probing of a keen journalist.

While one would expect Abraham to be busy riding high on 'Dostana's' phenomenal success and be frenetically preoccupied with promoting his imminent releases, the down-to-earth, equally sexy and suave artist is currently engaged in furthering his choice of non-profit organisation, Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI).

While the star was in town to collect a cheque for a whopping sum of Dh2 million as the incumbent goodwill ambassador of the HFHI in India, City Times caught up with him for a timed 10-minute chat.

Your last release was 'Goal', which was a year ago. Being on a break for that long is termed as 'professional suicide' by some.

If anything, it's just helped. I completely needed that time off. I didn't work for nearly a year, and, I was very happy not working. I really look at that time as God sent, rather than 'professional suicide'. I knew that I would have to come back with a bang. I think 'Dostana' did just that for me. It paid off by the end of it.

How important do you think looks are for an actor?

I think films are visual medium; so, I believe that one shouldn't be embarrassed by the way one looks. There is a constant effort on everybody's part to say that, 'Oh, he looks good; he must not be a great actor'. I have never understood that and I believe that I'm justified in what I'm saying. Today, most senior actors are concentrating on looking good. That speaks volumes. Gone are the days when we lived in a chauvinistic society, where the women had to look perfect and a man could look the way he did and just jump around anywhere. Today, men have to look the part and we're being looked at in the same way women were. So, I think it's great equality.

So does an actor have to look good to succeed?

No, I think it's the other way around, because if an actor looks particularly fit, then the people around have a problem. That needs to go. Trust me because when an actor doesn't particularly look fit, that's the least of your problems, because he's considered a great actor.

Do you think star kids have it easy, as compared to someone like you, who doesn't come from an industry-affiliate background?

In terms of sustenance, yes, they do. But there's a different kind of a pressure on them. There's pressure on them to perform all the time. A person like me is always the underdog. I'm probably in the most dangerous position because people have to turn around and look at me, I don't have to turn around and look at anybody. So, for me it's only the way in the front.

What movies should audiences expect to see John Abraham in post-'Dostana'?

Well, I have done a film for Yash Raj; it's Kabeer Khan's film called 'New York', which will release either March or May next year. Then, I have 'Aashayein', a film by Nagesh Kukunoor, which should release before that. I'm also doing a film with David Dhawan. And, then, I'm doing a film with Abbas Tyrewala (director of 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na'). Then, I'm again doing, nothing (laughs). I'm taking a break again. There is a Deepa Mehta movie but it's lying dormant right now because she's got two other projects before that. She's just got a project with Salman Rushdie, like I've read, and then she's got another project, and then, she comes to our project. So that's still very far away; maybe a couple of years away.

Who, besides Bipasha Basu, is your favourite leading lady?

Priyanka. Priyanka is someone I've worked with in 'Karam', which is one of my favourite films, and hers too. And we always think that had 'Karam' released in this day and age it would have done much better business. It was marketed very badly. So we lost out on a good opportunity. So, Priyanka's nice. And Abhishek's nice – Oh, sorry Abhishek's male (laughs).

And who are your favourites from the younger lot?

I think Imran (Khan), Ranbir (Kapoor) and Neil (Nitin Mukesh). Neil, I've worked with, so I can only say good things about him. He's a young boy. Absolutely brilliant. The new lot's super confident and talented. Then there's Deepika (Padukone) and Sonam (Kapoor), I particularly like Sonam. I saw bits of 'Saawariya', only bits of 'Saawariya', and I really liked it. But, I didn't see the whole film (grins). But Deepika's wonderful and she's really pretty.

Can you elucidate the purpose of your visit to Dubai for us?

ETA Star and its partners have been very kind in giving us a commitment of Dh2 million over three years. They're handing over a part of that amount today, and I'm really thankful to them and Habitat for having me here to collect the cheque. Habitat for Humanity has done commendable work in India. We've built 25,000 homes. By next year, it'll reach 50,000 homes. I've been part of a 'build' once and it's been the most exciting thing to do. That's where people actually lend their time to build homes for people. I'd like to mobilise a younger workforce in India to do that.

What other non-profit organizations are you a part of?

I'm a part of PETA. Everybody should be big on animal rights. I don't propagate being vegetarian or non-vegetarian, I propagate animals being kept in a humane way. My theory is very simple in life. I won't enforce my opinions on other people. All I believe is that if a stock of chicken is being taken to the slaughter, at least see that they live humanely before they die. I also do a lot through my mother, because she's probably the biggest driving force of my life. She does a lot for Make A Wish Foundation, that's for children suffering from terminally ill diseases. And she works for the home for the aged.