John Abraham doesn’t want to follow Kabir Singh trend, prefers doing something different | Bollywood - Hindustan Times
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John Abraham doesn’t want to follow Kabir Singh trend, prefers doing something different

Hindustan Times | By
Oct 04, 2019 06:55 PM IST

Actor John Abraham has said that he doesn’t want to follow the Kabir Singh trend and do a south Indian remake.

He is on a roll at the box office, for sure. After all, John Abraham has delivered four back-to-back hits including Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, Satyamev Jayate, RAW and now, Batla House. Even as trade world looks at him as a ‘bankable star’, the actor says his “major motivation is solid content.”

Actor John Abraham at the screening of his film Batla House in Mumbai.(IANS)
Actor John Abraham at the screening of his film Batla House in Mumbai.(IANS)

“To me, being bankable is all about cutting the cloth according to its length, so that it [a film] can work for everyone,” says John, adding that he doesn’t yet “have the luxury of extremely big budgets.” “So, I focus on creating very strong content. And when I create that kind of content, no amount of money can match the guts that I have. You know, my ideas are usually bigger than my budgets (laughs).”

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The Force actor is clear that “following trends” isn’t his thing. “After Kabir Singh’s success, I am sure there will be whole lot of flights that will go towards south India (laughs). But I don’t think I’d follow that trend. I would rather do something different. In fact, the minute people ask me, ‘why are you doing this [different] film?’, I know in my mind that I am going to do it,” says John, who will next be seen in Pagalpanti, followed by Mumbai Saga and Attack.

As a producer too, John aims to create a strong image for his production house. “To me, it’s very simple. If audiences get to know that I’m producing a film, then they should feel that they ought to watch it as it’s going to be completely different. They must be like, ‘this guy comes with interesting stories,’” says the actor, who has clearly come a long way from the days when the phrase, ‘models can’t act’ used to be commonplace.

Bollywood actors Akshay Kumar and John Abraham pose during the promotion of their films Mission Mangal and Batla House.
Bollywood actors Akshay Kumar and John Abraham pose during the promotion of their films Mission Mangal and Batla House.

“I think that phrase came about at a time when actors also couldn’t model (laughs). So, maybe, it was a case of sour grapes,” he says. But when he gets praised for his work in films such as Madras Café, Parmanu, RAW and Batla House, has he followed any special mantra? “It’s strange but with every film, people were like, ‘man, you have done it this time.’ But if you look at my filmography, they are like, ‘oh, you were great in films such as Zinda, Taxi No. 9211 or so funny in Garam Masala,’” he says.

John feels since he had “just about started my career” at that time, no one noticed his work. “Also, we had a lot of catchphrases at that time. And then an actor also becomes a prisoner of his own image. Since that was my image then, a lot of people said that I don’t deserve to be here. But with all due respect, they are the ones, who aren’t here anymore. Time has changed and the new generation has totally accepted the kind of films and performances I am coming up with. Batla House is a case in point,” he says.

Back in 2005, when John teamed up with Akshay Kumar for the first time in Garam Masala, audiences lapped up the film. Now, almost 20 years later, John says he is open to work on part two of the comic caper. “We [Akshay and I] should do it. Once I mentioned it [the sequel] to him, and he was like, ‘tere ideas acche hai, tu likh (laughs). When I see Garam Masala today, I realise how funny it is. I wish there is part two just for the sake of the audiences. When I think of it from people’s perspective, I think they will really enjoy it,” says John.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Prashant Singh is an Assistant Editor with HT Cafe. Besides bringing out the edition on a daily basis, he also extensively writes on Bollywood.

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