I don't care about rumours:John

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John Abraham. (TOI Photo) More pics

John Abraham is upbeat about the films he has lined up, but don't ask him about Bips

A VROOOOOOOOM caller tune greets you, assuring you that you have the right number. And then John Abraham talks enthusiastically about his forthcoming films. His next release, No Smoking , sees him playing a 12-year-old in parts of the movie. "Ranvir Shorey and I had to enact our childhood. We wore boxers, ganjis and specs and it looks convincing. No Smoking is not just a dark film, it's also funny," says John.

He's also doing Karan Johar's next with Priyanka Chopra and Abhishek Bachchan; and if rumours are to be believed, his character has hints of homosexuality. "Yes, and that's pure fun. It's just five per cent of what the film is about. And I've no problems doing such roles. Both Abhishek and I play testosterone-driven characters," he asserts.
This film also happens to be the one that Aishwarya Bachchan walked out of, but John is keen to work with the Bachchan bahu and might share screen space with her in a film directed by Sriram. "The star cast for Sriram's film has not been finalised, but Aishwarya might act in it," he adds.

After Water, John's become an admirer of filmmaker Deepa Mehta and is doing two more films with her. "I'm in total awe of Deepa. I'm doing Luna and Exclusion with her. Luna is a topical film about global warming, the true story of a woman who sat on a tree for three years to prevent it from being cut down. And Exclusion is to me what Apocalypto was to Mel Gibson. Shooting for both films will start next year. Deepa's an honest filmmaker. The equation that I share with her is very honest," says John.

Apart from films, John espouses many causes and has started a project called John's Brigade that builds houses for the poor; he also supports a project called Habitat for Humanity that works in the same area. He says, " Mr and Mrs Khutija , who head a corporate body, very graciously donated Rs 36 lakh to build houses for the poor. We've already built 5,000 homes through Habitat for Humanity and partly through my organisation. But we also require sweat equity, which means youth have to invest their labour. I would appeal to young people to enrol in this programme. I'm going to start campaigning in schools and colleges across the country for this."

He says his strongest base is youth. "They feel I'm very accessible to them. They feel, if John can do this, so can I. When Dhoom released, even four-year-olds watched it," says John, who's known as 'Dhoom Uncle' among kids.

He's also conceived a cellphone game for youngsters, but says it won't be launched any time soon. "Technology keeps changing. Besides, I want the right kind of marketing push for the game, which will take time," he explains.

He's happy to talk as long as it's about his films and other activities. But mention the status of his relationship with Bipasha Basu, and he says curtly, "I don't care about the rumours since I didn't spread them in any case." And then he just clams up.