Welcome Back is not a numbers game, says John Abraham

JOHN ABRAHAM IS CURRENTLY shooting in Dubai for Firoz Nadiadwala's Welcome Back. Initially known as just another wooden model, albeit one with killer abs and dimpled cheeks - the actor has slowly but steadily risen in Bollywood to become a sought after star in his own right now.

Why John Abraham is one of the bravest actors in Hindi Cinema currently?

His association with offbeat movies like Vicky Donor (which he produced) and Madras Caf (which he starred in and produced as well) surprised everyone. Both the scripts were initially rejected by almost all the studios but when they got made into films, they not only met with critical acclaim but also box office success. When almost all his contemporaries are busy producing masala entertainment movies that cater to mass audiences, John has shown the courage to produce movies that have an important story to tell.

He is among the rare actors in Bollywood who is able to balance commercial movies and offbeat scripts. So if you see him in all out masala entertainers like Desi Boys, House Full 2 and Race 2, when it comes to investing his own money he has put it in sensible movies that breaks the usual song-dance-and-item mould Bollywood is famous for. City Times chatted with John Abraham at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray on Friday night where he was shooting overnight with Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor and Shruti Hassan for Welcome Back.

You have replaced Akshay Kumar in the sequel of the movie Welcome. Considering he is a good friend of yours, did you have a chat with him for the same?

When I signed Welcome Back, I called up Akshay Kumar first because I lovingly call him Guruji'(Master) and I said Guruji, I have signed Welcome Back' and he said,'Yes I heard, it is a good film'. So Akshay is very happy for me, he is like an older brother and I love him and respect him a lot. We both share a relationship that is so beautiful that if you see Garam Masala, Desi Boys, Housefull 2 we are on auto pilot when we work together. So when I really want to be happy in life, I have to sign a film with Akshay. He has taught me a lot about comic timing in which he is a master. I am a very urban hero but with each comedy movie I am improving and with Welcome Back I hope people say that this guy is really funny.

Can you tell us why you signed Welcome Back?

I have not signed Welcome Back because of the number game. I am not doing it because it is a commercial film; I am doing Welcome Back because it is really a funny film. I had a migraine, was very unwell and sick when I was shooting through the night in Malaysia a few months back for a film. I took a long flight back and read this film's script on the flight. I laughed till I had tears in my eyes; I thought if it can make a sick man laugh, then it can make anyone laugh. I am doing this film because it is genuinely an unpretentious and funny film. Also I love Aneez Bazmee as a director. I am really enjoying my shoot in Dubai. Last night I went to Dubai Mall and I had fans from Syria, Iran, Pakistan coming hugging me and putting their hand on my shoulder while clicking pictures with me. I love it when my fans feel so comfortable with me. Dubai is the best place to chat and meet with fans from different parts of the world. Coming back to this film, I play a Goonda' (criminal) in this film and did my homework by watching Aamir Khan's Rangeela. I saw it around 50 times. This is not similar but I wanted to understand his homework on mannerism. Welcome Back will shock people positively, even though it is a comedy film there is a lot of method in the madness that I am following.

We were chatting with Nana Patekar who is also your costar in this movie, who told us that, John is a very good actor but more than that he is a genuine human being and that is what makes him more special'.

I think the feeling is mutual with Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Paresh Rawal and everybody. Nana and I bonded on our previous film Taxi 911 which I still believe is one of my best films and I was asking him, "Sir, should we do a second part of the movie just for fun?" He said, let's do it, after which he actually spoke to the producer who said, let's make the second part'. We want to start from where the first part ended so we are talking about it. Nana is a very special human being; he is a son of the soil, very simple and grounded. Let me tell you he really embarrasses me because every time I go to the gym at 7 in the morning, he is already there working from 5am. Another man who embarrasses me is Anil Kapoor because I am in the gym and when I turn back I see Anil Kapoor walking out after doing one hour of work out. Anil and I have done Shootout at Wadala and Race 2 together; with Paresh Rawal I did Garam Masala. With all these people my films have done very well and I am happy to be working with them in a group.

You have lost a lot of weight for Welcome Back. You have always been fit so why change now?

People want to see a regular and normal John in comedy movies. I have lost around 15 kilos for this movie and I am happy with this, people like it. With each film I want to give a variation. I know I can easily look like massive John from Force but I will come back to that for some other special film. Boys like the Force look on me and girls like the Desi Boys and Dostana look on me.
Many young writers and directors are breaking the rule of the industry right now and creating a new identity for Indian cinema. Among the actors you are probably the only one making movies on controversial topics like sperm donation or the Rajiv Gandhi assassinationI must say this: when I had the script of Vicky Donor, nobody understood the concept of a sperm donor, no studio entertained me, it took a long time to convince them. When I conceptualised Madras Caf with Shoojit Sircar, no studio even heard us out, no one encouraged us, our scripts were thrown out of every studio. Luckily Shoojit had an equation with one of the studios and they backed the film and we are thankful for it, but like you said everybody thought I was crazy when I did both of these films. I think it worked for us because the audience who saw it spread the word of appreciation about something different that has come out. I remember reading somewhere before Madras Caf came out that this film would not even work for one show and it worked and worked wonders. Its review was even better than Vicky Donor which was scary because it sets a precedent for us. We don't know what our next film would do and somewhere the law of average is going to catch up. But I am on a good wicket now. I believe if Madras Cafe had been released during this time, then it would have been the right movie from India to be screened at the Dubai International Film Festival.

Indian cinema is at a stage where the world is looking at the industry right now. But most of the A-list stars play it safe by producing the usual reliable masala movies. Don't you think somewhere the responsibility lies on the leading actors to come out and tell good stories even if it is once in a while?

I think it is very important for us today to represent our industry very responsibly. We must take away from the industry being called Bollywood, even though we deserve to be called Bollywood because we copy so many scripts from Hollywood. I think it is time that we start creating credible cinema with credible screenplay and present ourselves to the world and show them that Indian films can also be very different and powerful. When I sit on a flight and talk to anyone they say Bollywood is song and dance. That is exactly what we are known for. It has reached a point where we have become caricatures. People do not really appreciate our cinema, they identify our cinema. It is high time the world appreciates our cinema. People appreciate Iranian, Korean and Chinese films. Indian films for an Indian audience are the single largest most influencing factor for India, why can't we make sensible films then? I think someone had to make a change and I think if I can take a little credit for it, I believe I did it with Vicky Donor and Madras Caf.

Your production house is coming out with more movies. Can you give us more details on that?

I am doing a very small movie right now where I am launching Imtiaz Ali's younger brother Sajid Ali as a director. Sajid wrote Cocktail (2012). The oldest person in the movie is a 17-year-old so it is again a very different film. I believe it's a sweet film to be made since it speaks about adolescence. Even old people would identify with that just like youngsters. So we are making a film that is universal. Outside of that, my next production is one in which I am also acting. It will be made by Nishikant Kamat (Force). After that Shoojit and I are making a film together that will be based on a true story which will revolve around football. That film is a Lagaan-meets-Chak De India' but I would not even compare it to those movies. I remember when people asked me when I was making Madras Caf to give an example of an Indian film that is like that. And I said there is no benchmark and people did not really understand what I was trying to say until they saw the film. I thought it was a story that needed to be told. The assassination of John F Kennedy was tackled in a big way in America. As an Indian I felt, why not talk about a true Indian story. Similarly I feel the story about football is a true story and I want the world to know what happened in 1911. It is a period film and I can promise that it will be one of the most inspiring movies ever made on sports.

Where does all this inspiration come from?

I think the inspiration is coming from seeing such bad films churned out every year, I am not condescending towards any films because they are raking in the numbers and I am not. I am part of the 100 crore film club with Housefull 2 and Race 2, but does this justify the kind of films I am doing? No. I think my justification comes with Madras Caf and Vicky Donor. My inspiration comes from the fact that I believe I can be different from others if I make credible cinema because people around me are making in'credible cinema.

Your mother is known for her social work. Do you think the goodness in you is something you have gained from her?

I think I agree with you because the credit goes to my parents. My mother feeds 200 stray dogs a day, she takes care of children suffering from cancer twice a day, she feeds people in the home for the aged twice a days, so six days a week goes only in this. She has been doing this for 32 years now, even before I became an actor or a model. Also the fact that I was very middle class has always stayed with me and I have never let that go. In my head I am still a middle class boy and will always be middle class. Whatever money I earn goes to the work that my mother does without the knowledge of media or I buy myself new chappals! I have a very basic lifestyle and I want to live like this for the rest of my life.

You are getting involved in sports activities like hockey, football and bike races apart from movies nowadays.

I co-own a hockey team which will be launched on December 16. It's called Delhi Waveriders. I wish to propagate hockey, I am a big fan of Sardar Singh who is the captain of our hockey team. The other space I am looking at is co-owning a superbike team. I will also be doing something with the Football league. I love sports in general. If not actor than I would have played football for India. I love athletics that is why I loved Farhan Akhtar's Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Milkha was very Bollywood with song and dance but outside of Bollywood that is the only film I saw and loved apart from Madras Caf. Not that I did not like any other films. I have been so busy I couldn't see other films. I do not watch most Hindi films because I do not want to deviate from the kind of movies that I am focused on making right now.

You seem to be in a stable relationship currently, are you planning to take it to another level soon?

I will announce it soon. I believe your life is private only till a point but I will announce it soon maybe sooner or later I do not know. I think every relationship moves into the next space and I am very happy in this phase of my life. I think it is very important to take it to another level.

You did a movie called No Smoking with Anurag Kashyap when he was not really big in Bollywood where relationships change every other second.Are you still in touch with him or plan to collaborate with him in the near future?

Anurag is one of the people I am closest to. No Smoking is arguably one of my best performances, I am very happy when I see him doing so well. It's a mutual feeling, we both love each other. When we meet we joke and say that everyone makes a sequel out of hit films, why don't we make a sequel out of a flop film? Lets make No Smoking 2! I am very happy he is working with Ranbir now, I hope the film does so well that it makes Anurag even a bigger director.