I lived gangster Manya Surve’s life: John Abraham

To get under the skin of gangster Manya Surve, who was shot down by Mumbai police in their first official encounter in 1982, John Abraham lived his life for over a year while essaying the role in Shootout At Wadala.

To get under the skin of gangster Manya Surve, who was shot down by Mumbai police in their first official encounter in 1982, John Abraham lived his life for over a year while essaying the role in Shootout At Wadala.

“I drew a lot of inspiration from him. In a way, I lived his life for at least one-and-a-half years to play the role,” John said at the launch of the song, Ala Re Manya, from the film, recently. “When you see the film, you’ll find that I’m not John Abraham, I’m Manya Surve,” he added.

Actors like Anil Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayi, Sonu Sood, and Kangna Ranaut too feature in the film.

Meanwhile, John, who has portrayed varied roles, finds himself more attracted to negative characters. “Whenever I do negative roles, the films work. Last time I did a positive role, the film did not work. I love negative roles. Normal is boring... Anyone can play a hero, to play negative has an edge,” said John, who portrayed a baddie in Zinda, Dhoom and Race 2.