‘NO ONE CAN FOOL ME IN THIS INDUSTRY NOW’

After fighting some tough battles, John, the lead actor and producer of Parmanu discusses obstacles the film faced, the journey of developing this project and much more with Box office India

What prompted you to take people back to that time in 1998 and tell this particular story?

I think after Independence, this is the biggest defining moment in our history. If youngsters today feel that India is cool and they feel cool about calling themselves Indian, it is because of what happened on May 11, 1998. That’s very important.

We didn’t go out to make a jingoistic, overly patriotic film. We were clear that we wanted to make an edge-of-the-seat thriller. The by-product of that is that you feel proud to be an Indian. We were clear about what we wanted to make from the beginning.

Is this the reason you decided to produce the film too?

Yes. I like to back anything that is non-formulaic. I believe you must back something that you feel is impossible or difficult to make. Imagine making a film on nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, talking about shafts, nuclear bombs, and sub-kiloton bombs. All these are not easy subjects to make movies on. But simplifying these subjects and making them entertaining for the audience was the challenge and I think we took up that challenge. I must give credit to my writer and screenplay writer, Saiwin Qadros, and Sanyunkta Chawla Shaikh, (co-wrote of Neerja), who have penned this film. Sanyunkta is also the head of development at JA Entertainment. We believed we had a fantastic script.

How creatively involved were you in the process?

Every step of the way. From the ten-pager that came to me initially, till the final draft, till every VFX shot that went out, and, at that time, 87 VFX shots had to go out. I oversaw all of it. I was also involved in the background music and every process that was attached to this film.

How extensive was the research that went into developing this film?

The idea came to me with a lot of research. Director Abhishek (Sharma) sat with me and gave me an idea about the story, after which we developed it in-house. When I heard the story, my reaction was not an exclamation because the script was developed in-house. But when I had heard the idea, I was looking at Abhishek and he was looking at me, and he said, ‘You’re wondering why this hasn’t been made before, right?’ To that, I replied, ‘Yes, I am wondering why we didn’t make this before!’

As an actor, how do you prepare for a role like this?

My charatcer’s name is Ashwat Raina. I had to deconstruct myself. Abhishek very categorically told me, ‘You cannot have that body.’ He told me that I was a junior bureaucrat in the PMO and showed me photographs of how junior bureaucrats look. So I had to actually deconstruct myself, which was okay.

We also did a lot of research into the back story of Ashwat Raina. Even though it wasn’t used in the film, it was very helpful in developing the character. There was a lot there. I think this is the hardest I have worked in terms of a back story. And there were many workshops. It’s been gratifying, intense and truly gruelling.

Shootout At Wadala, Parmanu and now Batla

House with Nikkhil Advani, which is also based on a true incident. What is it that attracts you to play real-life characters?

No, it’s nothing like that. I think it is a coincidence. If you ask me, I love comedies but I enjoyed the narration of Batla House. In fact, I didn’t just enjoy it, I more than fell in love with it. I thought ‘Whoa! This is an opportunity that I should grab with both hands.’

Also, Nikkhil Advani is someone I truly love and respect. I worked with him on Salaam-eishq too. He has seen me grow. He has been on set every day when ‘Satyameva Jayate’ was being shot as he is the producer of that film. As time passed, we waited it out and he said, ‘John, I want you to hear something.’ His eyes lit up when he spoke about this film and I thought that we should definitely do this film.

If I take your story and make a film on it, trust me it will be more interesting than any other fictional story that I can make because fact is stranger than fiction. Fact is more interesting than fiction. It is interesting how you present that fact and which is why I like doing real-life characters. I think real-life characters have a lot of gravitas.

Coming back to Parmanu what was it like shooting in the place where it actually happened, Pokhran?

I’ll tell you a very nice incident that happened in Pokhran when we shot there. One of the villagers was talking to me and told me that he had witnessed the actual nuclear tests that had taken place there in 1998. He said the walls of his house fell apart due to those explosions. And I was like, arre yaar, so sorry aisa hua. But he said that kya baat kar rahe ho sir. Deewar tut gayi lekin Hindustan toh bach gaya na. You see that sense of pride that comes from these people is something which you don’t get to see in a major metropolitan city. You see it when you go to places like these, when you meet these people. They really think about the country and I think it was a really special moment for me to shoot in Pokhran, understanding what had really happened.

We did a lot of research into the back story of Ashwat Raina. Even though it wasn’t used in the film, it was very helpful in developing the character

It is interesting because people don’t know about these things.

Yes, people don’t know that just a few hours before the tests were supposed to happen, the winds moved North West towards Pakistan and we didn’t detonate because we said that there cannot be any collateral damage. The radiation should not go and harm the people of Pakistan. People don’t know these things.

You have a leading lady in the film, Diana Penty, but interestingly you are not romancing each other. Can you shed some light on her part?

Diana’s got great presence on screen. She’s just fantastic. It is not something that she has done before. She has done a lot of action in the film. She had to train in kick-boxing, in fights, and she was a little nervous about it. But she’s done a fantastic job. We were clear from the beginning that there would be no romance. I didn’t want to make a formulaic film. It’s boring. Not this. In the middle of a nuclear test, I cannot be involved with a girl. It would look weird singing in the desert there and then one bomb goes off. (Laughs)