John Abraham on Mumbai Saga release: I am a big screen hero, not available for subscription fee

John Abraham is packing a punch with three theatrical releases this year, most recent being gangster drama Mumbai Saga, and the actor-producer says he will “always” choose the big screen over streamers. According to the 48-year-old star, it is important for the film industry to instill confidence in cinema owners as they open their theatres with adherence to the COVID-19 protocol, so that audience can once again look forward to the community viewing experience.

“For me, the joy is reaching out to common people through my films because we are here to entertain them. I want to make good films. I don’t care about success and failure. I like to succeed in reaching out to more people. I want the audience to have that big screen experience. We lost that sense of big screen, heroism in films and ‘Mumbai Saga’ will bring that back,” Abraham told PTI in an interview.

There is “general consensus that actors are palming off their not-so-good films” on OTT (over-the-top) platforms, he said.

“There are few actors who see their films and realise it is best to go on OTT directly to save from the embarrassment of coming on the big screen… Films are judged on every medium. (And) They are ripping apart films on OTT,” he added.

The actor also stars in Satyameva Jayate 2 and Attack, both action dramas scheduled to be released in cinema halls. While Satyameva Jayate 2 will clash with Salman

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May 13, Attack will open on Independence Day

weekend. This year, Abraham will also be seen in a cameo in Sardar Ka Grandson, slated to be released on the streamer Netflix. Starring Arjun Kapoor, Neena Gupta, and Rakul Preet Singh in the lead, the film is a joint production of Abraham’s JA Entertainment, Emmay Entertainment and T-Series. Although OTT is a “great avenue”, the actor said he doesn’t want to take away the theatrical experience from the audience.

“The OTT platform is a great avenue and an option. But for me, it has always been about the big screen, being a big screen hero. I won’t be available for subscription fee,” he added. In Mumbai Saga, directed by Sanjay Gupta, Abraham plays a gangster named Amartya Rao. The actor, who has played grey roles in movies like Shootout at Wadala and Race 2, said he enjoys playing the anti-hero. “Normal has become boring. If you make a regular film, where the script is conceptually different and then you play a regular man, it is fine. People also love the anti-hero and they are going to relate to the film because we all are a face of rebellion in this country.” The film, slated to be released on Friday, is set in the 1980s-90s and revolves around all that went into transforming Bombay into Mumbai. There were unconfirmed reports that Mumbai Saga will premiere on a digital platform, but Gupta stuck to his promise of releasing the movie in cinema halls. Abraham, best known for action entertainers like Dhoom, Madras Cafe, Satyameva Jayate and Batla House, said the surge in COVID-19 cases is worrying for the makers who had barely started rolling out the dates of the ready to be released films. “My concern as an actor is my film has to be decent enough to be a good enough film. Also, every actor is worried about his filmography and what his net collections will look like. We don’t know what is going to happen next, the cases are going up now.” Mumbai Saga also features Emraan Hashmi, Kajal Aggarwal, Mahesh Manjrekar, Suniel Shetty, Prateik Babbar, Rohit Roy, Gulshan Grover, and Amole Gupte. It is produced by T-Series, White Feather Films, and Sangeeta Ahir.

Ahead of Mumbai Saga releasing in theatres on Friday, John Abraham said he is a big screen hero and wants to entertain the common man. The actor also alleged that filmmakers are palming off their substandard films to OTT

platforms.

‘He has the voice, the performance, the talent and the presence.'

‘He is a bankable star, so he brings all these things to the table.'

'John is a complete man'

Sanjay Gupta's film Mumbai Saga, starring John Abraham and Emraan Hashmi, marks the return of the larger-thanlife cop-gangster shootout drama.

Set in Mumbai's underbelly, the film portrays the events that led to the transformation of Bombay into Mumbai.

"There are a handful of film-makers like us who will always make films we believe in. We believe films on the large screen will be made on the basic concept of paisa vasool, so woh toh karna hi hai na, yaar!"

Theatres are open with just 50 percent capacity and

Mumbai Saga has locked horns with Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar. This will affect the box office collections of both films.

Is there a way out for films releasing in pandemic amidst all these challenges?

I can't comment on that. These are decisions taken by the producers and the distribution heads of the companies when they feel whatever is the best period for them.

Having said that, each film has its own destiny, its own audience and gets its own numbers.

There was a clash between Kaabil and Raees and that affected both films. There were two superstars. But I don't see that much of a competition happening here. There isn't a way out. We can only wait up to a point. We waited for a year. We weighed our pros and cons and decided upon a date. Rohit Shetty also held out for over a year. Mumbai Saga was never an OTT film. It is not designed, written, shot or structured as a film to be consumed on television screens and laptops.

It is a theatrical experience, a full blown cinematic experience. As a producer who has invested Rs 60 crore (Rs 600 million, he will look at all the ways, pros and cons, about how he will recover his cost and get the highest possible audience. John (Abraham) and Emraan (Hashmi) felt we should not even consider the OTT option but it's easy for them to say that; they have not invested Rs 60 crore in the film. Bhushan Kumar has. So it's a call even I cannot take. With the rise in OTT, film-makers were veering towards realism. But now, Bollywood is reloading the vintage largerthan-life formula of the '80s and '90s. Is his the period of the masala revival? Absolutely not. Where did we go? It's not like I took a hiatus. I have done Kaabil, Jazbaa, Shootout at Wadala... Rohit Shetty has done all the blockbusters.

Salman Khan has done all the blockbusters.

The rise in OTT is a wonderful thing, but can I ask a simple question: When you see the crime shows across the OTT channels -some of them are exceptionally good like Paatal Lok or the first season of Mirzapur and Sacred Games, I thought they were brilliant -- do you find anything cinematic in that?

There is a statement made by Martin Scorsese.

You know what's the worst word that has come into our business? He says it is content.

Films are not content.

We should not categorise films as content.

You just want to go to the theatres to be entertained, to be taken on a ride. So why are we ignoring that basic fact and saying, no, no content is king.

I mean, entertainment is king.

Whether there is OTT, which is a blessing, of course. But that is material designed and created for a smaller screen.

That material is very personal, like it's one on one.

Do you remember the last time you sat with your family and watched an OTT show?

Suddenly unko ek licence mil gaya hai aap sex daal do. Arre kyun?

Some of the greatest crime films like The Untouchables, Scarface and The Godfather... where was the nudity in these films? Where was the obscenity in these films?

They are two different platforms and you have content for two different platforms.

There is a handful of film-makers like us who will always make films we believe in.

We believe films on the large screen will be made on the basic concept of paisa vasool so woh toh karna hi hai na, yaar! I understand that there was a spurt, a certain growth in films made on smaller budgets but at the same time, it's not that we have stopped consuming this.

Ram Gopal Varma and you are known for making films on the underworld. Mr Varma has called his film D Company, the asli Mumbai Saga. What do you think?

I have grown up watching his movies.

I used to bunk college and watch Shiva and all of that.

Ramu is one film-maker, rather the only film-maker in the film industry, who is entitled to any opinion.

I don't think about that film and I don't see any reason to.

Did you always have John Abraham and Emraan Hashmi in mind while casting for this film?

John, yes. The film was written keeping him in mind.

I did not know who would play the other role.

Once we finished writing, we had a discussion and I said I needed a fresh pairing. I needed somebody who had not done it before, so that it becomes one of the USPs of the film. When I was a kid, if there was an Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna film, I used to feel very happy. Look at 2019's biggest hit (War). You saw two dashing heroes go at it. I had to reinvent John because he had played a gangster for me in Shootout at Wadala. How is that gangster going to be different from the one he plays here, whether it is the way he talks, the way he walks, the way we present him, the way we dress him, the beard, the hair... But why John? You already made a gangster film with him? Why not John? When I am casting for a gangster film, he is better suited. John is a complete man. He is the total package. He has the voice, the performance, the talent and the presence. He is a bankable star, so he brings all these things to the table. You have begun scripting Rakshak, which is about a vigilante superhero. Who will play the superhero?

I have nobody in mind.

But it's a superhero, so it will have to be a young, fit and good actor.

In the West, Robert Downey, Jr is the highest paid actor in the world. But when he was taken for Iron Man, he was just off his alcoholism and drug addiction. He was a non-entity.

Iron Man made Robert Downey, Jr what he is today.

Do you recall who Gal Gadot was before Wonder Woman? So what they do is that they spend money on the film, rather than on the star.

That's something we need to start doing here, and we have started to an extent.

Rakshak is an original story of a superhero vigilante.

Daredevil and Batman are guys who do not have superpowers, but they are superheroes.

Rakshak is in that category.

Once you set up something like this, it opens up a whole world for you to explore later, including if you want to do spin off shows or films.

Krrish is the only superhero we have, but then again, Rakeshji (Roshan) takes his time. When he feels he is ready, he makes a film.

Between the Krrish films, there is a gap of five or six years, so obviously he is not making it to make money or milk it.

He is ready when he has a story to tell.

Having worked with both father and son so closely over the last three or four years, that is one thing I have learnt from them. It's never about making a project.

It's about you telling the right story.

Having said that, Rakeshji is a standalone producer.

He does not share even with a studio. He releases it himself. Suppose the Krrish franchise was with Disney, all the infrastructure they have internationally is what they could have done something with.

I am eyeing that.

If I create this character and the character gets accepted, that's is the most important thing now.