With an 18-year career in Bollywood that is filled with some of unusual choices of films that hold strong recall value, John Abraham is trying to cater both sections of audience — urban and mass.
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The actor reveals the mantra that drives him to take risks. “I think the only strength that I have in my career since the beginning is, I have no fear of failure,” he says, ahead of his movie ‘Satyameva Jayate 2’, out now in UAE cinemas.
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“Initially, there was a list of films that I did that were ahead of their time. So they did not work for the larger audience and I was ok with it. I also knew from the beginning that, every story has its set audience,” he adds. The actor, who carved a career for himself with films like ‘Jism’, ’Dhoom’, ‘Dostana’, ‘New York’, ‘Kabul Express’, to ‘Madras Cafe’, ‘Parmanu’ [pictured] and ‘Batla House’, has had a mixed bag of hits and misses over the years.
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While some of the above-mentioned films are very clearly commercial potboilers and some are much loved by the urban audience, Abraham says he has no real strategy when it comes to picking projects.| Abraham in 'Batla House'
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“If not instantly, eventually the story will find its audience. So, there are films that I did and that earned a lot of money at the box office, which wasn’t something I was expecting when I was making the film. I never put myself under pressure imagining the negative result of the end product. What’s the worst that will happen, it won’t work for the audience, right? Ok, we will move on to the next film. I live film to film and keep moving on,” he says. | Abraham and Genelia D'Souza in 'Force'
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His latest release is directed by Milap Zaveri and is a sequel to ‘Satyameva Jayate’. How the new film fares at the box office will take a few days to determine by Abraham won’t lose sleep over it. Rather, he chooses the rest of the interview to take a trip down memory lane to relive some of the films that are very close to his heart.
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‘Jism’: Released in 2003 the film received a lot of love and appreciation from the critics and audience alike. “It will always remain a special film for me because it was my debut. My favourite song ‘Awarapan Banjarapan’ was first time I got so much adulation from the audience. I realised how my long hair and physicality became a rage among youngstars but for me, back then, I was just a guy passionate about storytelling. Trust me, I am still the same,” says Abraham.
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‘Dostana’: One of the most successful films that came out of Dharma Productions in 2008 featuring Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra, the film had a humorous take on the homosexual relationships. “When I read the script, I just found it funny. I was laughing throughout the reading season. That was it for me to come on board and do the film. Yes, the rest is history! But I wasn’t very calculative about it. I was going with the flow,” he says.
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‘Dhoom’: Released in 2004 the first instalment of the franchise saw Abraham play the traditional ‘bad guy’ and it really changed the image of the villain. Again, his appearance and a passion for bikes created a rage among a whole new generation due to the success of the film. “When I look back I wonder how that magic happened really because I am the bad guy, I had no track of love story or song picturised on my in the film. All I had is the character and my bike!
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“While I couldn’t predict the end result of the film that turned out so successful, I would go back to my earlier point, I had no fear of failure. You see, that is the point, my driving force,” says the actor. Quite interestingly in all these films that gathered a cult following, Abraham received a lot of appreciation for his strong screen presence and looks. Be it his bare body, long hair look in ‘Jism’, flaunting his biceps and walking around the Miami beach in ‘Dostana’ and riding bikes in ‘Dhoom’.
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Does the good looks put him into the box of non-actor, in the eyes of the critics? “Hey, but I am the same guy who did a film called ‘New York’, a very important story that was. I did ‘Water’, ‘Madras Cafe’ [pictured] and ‘Kabul Express’ too. I did a film called ‘Zinda’, ‘Force’... well the list is long and I am not being defensive here. I am trying to say in the initial stage of my career when I did those films, ‘subtle acting’ was not a trend then. So, the performance wasn’t noticed perhaps but those films are still watched and loved. Now, I am trying to reach out to every section of the audience, my choice of films is a reflection of that,” he concludes.
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