John Abraham admits to feeling ‘objectified’ because of his physique: ‘There is a huge audience who wants to see that'

John Abraham said that he strives to make a balance between choosing the right kind of scripts. He will be seen next in The Diplomat.

Actor John Abraham has been working in the industry for over two decades now. From Jism to Dostana and the more recent Pathan, the actor has never failed to surprise fans with his body transformations, extraordinary physique and enviable eight-pack abs. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, the actor admitted to feeling objectified for his body and how he dealt with it by choosing scripts that also focused on the writing. (Also read: The Diplomat trailer: John Abraham headlines a risky mission to save ‘bharat ki beti’. Watch)

John Abraham opened up about feeling objectified in the industry.

What John said

In the interview, John said, "I did feel objectified. In fact, I was told more often than not that, ‘John, you are probably the only man who can be objectified by women.’ In a strange way I did not feel bad about it, I felt it was a compliment. I felt good about it, but yeah, we are usually fighting this battle where it's always about the way you look rather than the way you perform. I think one needs to strike that balance out by choosing the right kind of cinema, the right kind of scripts." He gave examples of films like Madras Cafe, Kabul Express, Taxi No 9211 and No Smoking to make his point.

‘Initially it was about the physique’

He then went on to add whether The Diplomat is also an entry into those kinds of films, and said, “I have been stressing on writing, in any film that I am producing or doing, because I think the most important thing in a film is the way it is written. And once its written right, and once you can belt out those lines the way your director wants you to then it becomes more about the scenes... Initially it was about the physique, the body. Is there an audience that still wants to see that? Yes, and there is a huge audience who wants to see that and I want to do that! But there is also a large audience who wants to see the content and respects that.”

John will be seen next in The Diplomat, in which he plays the role of real-life Indian diplomat JP Singh. It releases in theatres on March 7.