'I can’t let Abhishek go!'

John Abraham has always been in the news for the right reasons, but his latest film New York is seeing his name being bandied around in relationship rumours. In a fun, free-wheeling interview with Masala!, John, who is still recovering from a fractured ankle, sheds light on his ‘relationships’, gushes about Bipasha and talks about his first love – acting.

How is your ankle?

It’s much better – still in a cast and I am walking around with a crutch.

You are returning to a darker topic with New York. Tell us more about it.

I am enjoying the return to darker films – it is what I like to do more. But this is not so much a dark film as a thriller. It’s a commercial film with 9/11 as its background. But it is not an America-bashing film. Rather it’s an unbiased film about three friends. My character Sam (Sameer) is somebody that every Indian and Asian – whether in the US, Dubai or Africa – can identify with.

Did you enjoy working in this film?

Pre-shooting, I lived my character to get under the skin. I did my homework, which started while I was working on Kabul Express in Afghanistan. I met Afghanis, the Mujahedeen, the Americans and the Canadians – I heard their stories and worked on my character profile.

How did you, Neil and Katrina chill away from home? Were you mobbed by fans or was it relatively easier to move around compared to India?

It was relatively easier. We shot in Philadelphia, which has fewer Indians than say, NY. Every day was relaxing. The shoot there lasted for three months – the longest schedule in the history of cinema I think [laughs]. And it was a schedule that was as much fun as working on Dostana.

The much talked about nude scene is actually a part of a rather traumatic prison scene, isn’t it?

Post release, I hope no one talks about it [the nudity], but instead focuses on the scene itself. The focus is too much on the nudity whereas that is not the main focus in this film.

How did the scene challenge you? Were you left emotionally disturbed afterwards?

It is tough to bare your emotions and yourself completely. It does take a toll on you. You channelise the character and what it goes through, and it is tough for you as an actor to cut off after the shot.

Did you find it easier to bond with Neil, a male co-star, or with Katrina, a female co-star?

To be honest, you have to be comfortable with people. It is not gender specific.

Do you think these controversies linked to a movie’s stars are planted out there by the PR machinery to grab attention?

Controversies? You mean the one about Neil and I having an affair [laughs]?! It’s all over the place but you know I will never let Abhishek go. But seriously, it is ridiculous and even the audience and readers feel that way. But I don’t think this is the work of a PR machinery. We actors definitely don’t take any great pride in getting linked this way.

So do you get embarrassed about meeting a co-star after these rumours do the rounds?

Not at all! If I feel embarrassed about rumours then I will not be able to work with any actress or even with Abhishek, for that matter. In fact, we get on with the work on hand and don’t refer to these rumours at all.

How come you did not go to the IIFA awards this year?

I broke my ankle. But Bipasha was there and I thought she looked beautiful. She looked a dream.

Neil says that he wants your body. So whose physique do YOU want?

Brad Pitt – and that too for his credible work and not just for how he looks. You know he has done a Babel and a Troy! And he is not the kind of actor who is worried about the length of his role in the film but about the [nuances of the] character. I feel I am also very secure as an individual and an actor and am not worried about the length of a role. I work hard on a film and firmly believe that the audience’s money should not be wasted. I prepare and work hard for the role. Gone are the days when a star could play himself over and over again in different films and get away with it.

Abbas Tyrewala spoke about changing your persona from larger-than-life-movie-star to normal-man-on the-street for your next film...

Nowadays I take a break between films so that I can do workshops to work on the character. Earlier I was accused by people of being too ‘subtle’. Zinda is a case in point. Abbas told me, ‘Physically you cannot look like John Abraham.’ So I asked him, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘You have to lose weight to begin with and you also have to work on the character’s nuances.’ Now I am sitting on each nuance of the script. We rehearse our lines so that we have the subtle points and quirks down pat before the shoot.

There has been a series of sports related films coming out now – Chak De, Victory, Goal and Hadippa will be out soon. Do you think your film Hook Ya Crook will suffer or benefit from this?

Be it a laugh riot, sports flick, a romantic or a musical, you have to make a good film. It is as simple that.

Medium pacer Balaji bowled your ankle out of joint during the shooting of Hook Ya Crook...

After watching me bat for a while, Balaji asked me, ‘Are you comfortable with the bowling?’ I said I was. So he bowled a ball that came at 135 or 140kmph. I must say that he bowls very well indeed. So well that he broke my foot!

Quick bites

Cricket or football: Football
Bikes or fast cars: Bikes
Malayali or Parsi: Both. I am half Parsi-half Mallu.
Rocky or Rambo: Hmmm... that is a tough one. Rocky!