Making a big splash

Not desi chaawal, but champagne

By V. Radhika/Toronto

It’s just two years since he stepped into tinsel town but his dimpled smile-toned muscle image has already made John Abraham everyone’s favourite pin-up boy. He’s not all beefcake, either. Film-maker Deepa Mehta cast him in Water, which was warmly received as the opening film at the Toronto festival. While his charm was on display during his week-long stay in Toronto, John came up with occasional rapiers, too. For instance, journalists who used the term ‘Bollywood’ were met with "Bollywood is a very subservient term. We are not slaves to Hollywood. The Indian film industry has its own independent identity."

Excerpts from an interview:
Was it a conscious career move to do 'Water': to prove that you are more than a handsome face and a sculpted body?
By saying that, we are underestimating what Indian cinema has to offer. We have great film-makers. I did this role because Deepa Mehta is a brilliant director. As an actor, it would be great on my resume. I read the script and liked it. I did not think about the controversy behind it.

You have been experimenting with roles... a villain in 'Dhoom', an ideal beta in 'Viruddh' and a comic character in Priyadarshan’s upcoming flick. Is this a conscious attempt to showcase your repertoire?
I did not get the clichéd clean-shaven hero roles. I get roles that are tailor-made for me. Like Dhoom. Aditya Chopra approached me saying ‘you are the only one who looks like someone who can sit on a motorbike’. I have got my own niche market and I am happy with it. I have been told I have a different kind of a face and a different name which works for me. Because today when I come here [Toronto] there are people who like me a lot and I have been appreciated by the gora log [whites] as well.

When you have to do crossover films and something out of the box, it always helps to do different things. To quote Aditya Chopra: "You are not like desi chaawal; you are definitely champagne. Expensive but the right fit." I am not competing with anybody. I am secure doing my own thing.

So you are not in the numbers game?
I am nowhere close to being in the numbers game. I cannot sell a movie singularly in India today. A Shah Rukh, Aamir, Salman and maybe Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan—with the right kind of banners—can sell movies; I can’t.

Where do you see yourself five years from now?
I do not know. Probably doing a little more [international films]. I would like to do stuff that is appreciated by an overseas audience also. Here, I do not mean only overseas Indians. However, the Hindi film industry is where my home is. I am never going to alienate that. That is where I get my bread and butter, and respect and love from. I am not anxious to cross over but if it works, great.

Did acting just happen to you or did you always want to be an actor?
I was modelling when Mahesh Bhatt said his daughter wants to produce a movie. Pooja spoke to me and said it is about a lover who is helplessly in love with a married woman; that movie was Jism. Modelling also happened by chance. I was working with an advertising agency and a model didn’t turn up; so I modelled instead. Then, my boss and friends told me to participate in the Gladrags contest. I went and won, and work started happening.

Do you choose your product endorsements as carefully as your movies?
I am endorsing a lot of products, but I am not doing anything and everything. I do different stuff. Stuff that is exciting. I am doing a Yamaha motorcycle ad. A lot of people like my hair; so I am doing Clinic shampoo; I am doing Bombay Dyeing because they want to reinvent the Dream Lover. I am doing Wrangler jeans, which is urban cowboy. I do products that go with my image. I can’t do a toothpaste ad or that of a confectionery. I do things I am convinced about; then only can the audience be convinced to buy the product.

Would you ever do a role that does not agree with your sensibilities?
If it is a great role and if it works in the context of the movie and my career, I would.

Who is your favourite contemporary Indian actor?
The most powerful actor I have worked with is Seema Biswas [Water]. There is a scene where she looks at me after I cremate [the widow] Kalyani’s body; that says it all. Very few actors can hold a shot in silence. Amitabh Bachchan is superb.

Are you interested in regional cinema?
It would be interesting if I were offered anything but I don't know the language; that would be a problem.

Your favourite film?
Old Body is a great movie and so are Life is Beautiful and Emily. Among Indian films, I love Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. I think it is one of the epic movies. I like Ek Duje Ke Liye, Sagar, Pyasa and Sahib, Bibi aur Gulam.

While people in the industry do not talk about their affairs, Bipasha and you have been open about your relationship. Is it because you are sure you are right for each other?
We have been honest about it. We do not talk about it but if someone asks us, we say we are seeing each other. We are in a relationship. So why hide it?

Would you call yourself a metrosexual?
I find ‘metrosexual’ is an effeminate term for a man. In the Indian context, I think it means being more brand-conscious and men trying to look better. Being metrosexual, in my opinion, is taking as much time in dressing up as a woman does. I think it is a waste of time. I think you can be a good man or a bad man.

How did growing up in a multicultural home shape your character?
I am a Mumbai boy who lived in a middle-class home. I have certain family values. No religious inclination because my parents were never really hard on believing. My mom is Parsi but she goes to church, we have Ganapati and Jesus Christ in our house. I have been pretty broadminded since I was young.

What, other than acting and biking, do you love to do?
Honestly, I do not have time for anything, but I love watching movies. Not just Hindi films or Hollywood films; we talk about Hindi films being not so good but Hollywood makes as many lousy films as our industry. World cinema is what I watch. When I travel, I pick up a lot of DVDs. I pick anything between 200 to 300 movies wherever I go.