John Abraham: My religion is working hard and my temple, church, mosque my gym
Pics courtesy Jindeep Photography
By Manju Mittal
Bollywood’s handsome hulk and heartthrob of millions of female fans, John Abraham was in Sydney for the Valentine’s Dinner & Dance show. Actor and producer John is a disciplined person in terms of his films and fitness, he has been working successfully over the years since his days as a model to today as an established star of Indian cinema. John is a half Malayali by birth, as his father hails from Aluva in Emakulam district and his mother Firoza Irani is Zorastrian from Mumbai.
It’s been 14 years since John Abraham first made the move from the catwalk to the silver screen with his debut film ”˜Jism’, in 2003. John made a name for himself in commercial films such as ”˜Dhoom’, ”˜Dostana’, ”˜Garam Masala’, ”˜Zinda’, ”˜Taxi No 9211’, ”˜Force’, ”˜Kabul Express’ and many more. Today John is famed as much for his diverse range of films as an actor and as a producer as well as his flawless physique, having won a national award with his first venture ”˜Vicky Donor’.
Valentine day today, on 14th of February, the occasion gives us all a reason to celebrate the festival of love with someone special. Sydneysiders loved the romantic date with John Abraham, a great Saturday evening of meet & greet on February 11, 2017 organised by Vvikas Paul of FIA at Hornsby RSL. As soon as he walked in Sydney’s female fans went wild clicking pictures and asking questions, requesting for hugs & kisses. John mesmerised everyone with his charming personality. Organiser Vvkas Paul and team have brought a line-up of Bollywood personalities, evening with John Abraham turned to be the highlight.
It was a sizzling hot afternoon in Sydney and John is holed up Sydney’s Sheraton hotel when I caught up with him for an interview. He made me wait but it was worth it when I came face to face with him dressed in a casual outfit he looked, to put it simply, extraordinarily handsome.
Here John shares his journey in Bollywood exclusively with TIDU:
This may be your first trip to Australia. What are your impressions of Sydney city?
Well, this is not my first visit to Australia. I am here for the second time, first time I had come here was very brief but this time I am enjoying so much In fact, I love looking around, saw the Opera House, went to sports store, weather is crazy here this time, it’s very hot. Yes, Australia is a beautiful country, I love everything about its culture, the people are very warm.
How do you look your journey from modelling to film career?
I never wanted to get into the films, I was working after my MBA; I would say modelling & acting happened by accident. I had to prove that I can sustain in the modelling industry once that struggle over I went on to act in movies. I want to make good meaningful films, I want to change the way films look probably I am too new to do that but I like to do that.
John you played all different kind of roles so whats next and how do you ease in different characters so easily?
I personally like playing negative roles, being the negative guy is something different, I don’t like to play good all the time like singing and dancing kind of role, I find it boring. I always try to look at the role before I do it. For my next film I am supposed to loose lot of weight and so the effort is towards that.
Turning your hand to production, tell us more about your production house?
I produced ”˜Vicky Donor’, ”˜Madras Cafe’, ”˜Rocky Handsome’ and ”˜Force 2’. My next three productions are coming on the floor soon including ”˜Force 3’, I am also focusing on regional cinema, our Marathi production venture shall hopefully kick off in the first quarter of 2017 and I have plans to produce two Malayalam films soon. It is an amazing script that we are working on. I feel regional cinema is producing some incredible quality films with great content. I feel the Indian film industry can definitely learn a lot from various regional film industries. As an actor I am working with JA entertainment ( John Production company ), my banner is bigger than me.
What is your intention in terms of the contribution you wish to make to Indian Cinema?
Keeping our audience in mind and how much they enjoy films that involve action, our films need to have a good mix of incredible action sequences and the perfect story. That way the audience can enjoy wholesome entertainment. I feel ”˜Force 2’ has tremendous potential to be one of Bollywood’s biggest action franchise. The plot of this film is relevant in today’s times.
You have been in Film Industry for long, what has been your greatest achievement in your career?
Honestly, I don’t think I have achieved too much, I have a long way to go and I think my time has begun now. I want to make different films and I want to mature as an actor. I feel my type of acting is very different from the usual Bollywood, that’s the kind of person I am and that transcends into my films, my relationships and my total space and I am proud of it. I have always given my hundred percent effort to entertain the audience, and yes for me the greatest achievement is the love and support of my fans, which I always get.
You are one of the fittest, good looking actor in Bollywood. I am sure John you get this question asked all the time that what is the secret of being so good looking and fit?
(Smiles ) I lead very disciplined life. I don’t smoke, drink, I have never done drugs. I think what’s important is time, you must have respect for time, I wake up really early, I sleep early, go to the gym and like early shifts and give myself completely to my work. My only religion is working hard, my temple, church, mosque is my gym, I worship the body and work hard. I have been cautious about my lifestyle, where my thoughts, words and deeds are concerned and that’s how I want to live. I think the most important part of fitness, whether in diet or exercise, is discipline.
Lastly, any message to your fans in Australia?
I just want to say I am very heartened and nice to see people being so welcoming warm and sweet here. I want to thank them for having me here and hope I get more opportunity to come here and shoot here one day.
Meeting John proved he’s so much more than just a handsome face. He is disciplined and a dedicated actor, producer and a football player. He has come a long way having carved a niche for himself not just as an actor and film producer. We sincerely wish John best of luck in all his future endeavours.
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