‘I’M HAPP RUNNING MY OWN RACE’

Actorproducer John Abraham says he will “hurt himself” and won’t survive in the long run if he becomes a part of the “rat race”

He hasn’t had a release since Force 2 (2016) but John Abraham is clearly not losing sleep over it. Instead, the actor is happy working at his own pace as doesn’t want to “get into a rat race”. Now, as he readies for his next — based on the nuclear tests conducted in Pokhran, Rajasthan in 1998, John admits he has always tried to “marry commerce with content”. We caught up with John about his career, taking a break and more.

2018 is your 15th year in BTown (he debuted with Jism; 2003). How has the journey been?

Honestly, it’s all been the blessing of my audience and I have always said that. My godfather is my audience. For someone who has nobody in the industry, people are his godfather. My fans have loved me a lot and held me close; and it’s all thanks to them that I am here. I am grateful to my wellwishers. They are the most fantastic people in my life.

You’ve been missing in action for the past few months…

I have been busy developing content and I really enjoy that. It took two and a half years for me and my director (Abhishek Sharma) to develop my new film, but I think it has been worth the wait. I have been developing other content too. I also believe there is no point being in the news just for the sake of it. So, I would rather stay out of it.

Did you not miss being on the big screen for a year?

Not really! I was okay. Audiences should look forward to what are you going to do next and that’s important. I want to belt out good stuff and not crap, just to be in the news. So, I don’t have the ‘airport look’. What’s this airport or the gym look anyway? I don’t understand all of that. I’m just interested in making good films and I want to make it for my audience.

With so much competition around, do you ever bother about the ‘race’ in the industry?

I feel blessed but at the same time, lucky too. The younger lot gets along with me really well as they know that this guy is on his own trip but he is also like one of us. They feel, ‘Oh, he [John] is cool, easy, and doesn’t seem to have any kind of insecurity’. I think that stems from the kind of person I am. I am happy that I am running my own race and even if I try, I can’t get into a rat race. I think I will harm myself. I will hurt myself and won’t survive in the industry, in the long run if I start running the race like everybody else. Just four to five people are running one race, but there is so much more in terms of content, subjects and directors. So, please look outside and stop running after the same thing.

So, there is no insecurity at all?

I don’t want to sound like Superman, who wears his underwear outside his pants, but I believe that my biggest strength is that such things don’t really matter to me, and that makes me feel good about myself. I am not concerned about what XYZ is doing for a film. I feel there is enough food for everyone, so, everyone should do well. If there are 10 heroes in a population of around 1.5 billion people, you are blessed. The least you can do is do good and not inane stuff; that’s a responsibility. Those are the shoes that I have to fill in. I’ve set a benchmark for myself to make a difference with my kind of cinema. I have been in the industry for 15 years but some actors have been here for 20-25 years. It’s too soon to make a difference but I definitely want to.

Be it Madras Cafe (2013) or your next film, how tough is it to make an entertaining film that’s relevant and engaging as well?

It is tough. I give credit to all the directors who – over the years — have been associated with us. If we did Vicky Donor (2012) and Madras Cafe, the credit goes to Shoojit (Sircar). For my next film, the credit goes to Abhishek. I always try and marry commerce with content. That is tough. People ask me, ‘Why do you take so much time and make difficult things when you are an A-list commercial hero and can do the easiest things and get away with it?’ But I feel normal is boring and there is no fun in it. It’s good to take that risk and while you are doing that, people are anyway writing your obituary (laughs). So, it’s okay. What can you do to me? I have been buried many times. So, once more is okay.

John Abraham