Films need a script, not song and dance: John Abraham

Actor-producer John Abraham, who has produced off-beat films like Vicky Donor (2012), and more recently, Madras Cafe (2013), says that he would like to change the way Bollywood is perceived in the west

Actor-producer John Abraham, who has produced off-beat films like Vicky Donor (2012), and more recently, Madras Cafe (2013), says that he would like to change the way Bollywood is perceived in the west.

"When people in the west talk of Bollywood, they only say our films are about song and dance, that’s all they know. Why can’t we create great screenplays and great stories?,” he asks, adding, “I hope I can change the kind of films that we make in the next five years. I aspire to make bigger movies than what I have done so far and present it to an international audience,” says 40-year-old Abraham.

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Ask him how it feels that Madras Cafe, a film that is based on the civil war in Sri Lanka, has done so well at the box office, and he says, “I feel relieved because there is a quality conscious audience that wants to see sensible films. I keep reiterating that content can run at box office. I thank the viewers for accepting movies like Madras Cafe. It’s because of them that I’ll make more movies like these.”

The actor was in the Capital recently as the goodwill ambassador for Cure India, a NGO that aims at eradicating disability caused by clubfoot – a congenital deformity involving one foot or both.

Talking about the campaign, John says, “I am fortunate that as an actor, I could lend my face value, and help propagate the initiative. My parents have dedicated their whole lives to social work and to help people.”