We hope Karan Johar is listening because we want it too!
John Abraham returns to the screens this summer — as an actor and as a producer. Rocky Handsome is a remake of a Korean film, but director Nishikant Kamat has ‘Indianised’ it to make it more palatable to local tastes. John is eager to see the reaction to the film more as a producer than an actor because he wants to make certain kind of films and he wants to see if he’s on the right track. It’s not easy to make films for Indian audiences, which are currently split into two parts. The multiplex-frequenting crowd prefers dramatically different fare than the single screen audience. And the twain rarely meet. But John is a man with a plan. And he is not playing one-day cricket. He is here for the test match and he is ready to play the long game. Here John talks about his next film, the kind of films he wants to produce and why he is keen to do the Dostana sequel. Read on…
As a producer, what is more important. Commercial success or critical appreciation?
Clichéd as it sounds, both. It’s a mix of both simply because if you have seen Vicky Donor and Madras Café, they were very risky projects. On the face of it, if I told you I am making a film on a sperm donor and a film on the assassination of our former prime minister, the first thing to cross your mind would be, ‘You must be crazy.’ Madras Café was my first production, and I went to every studio with it and they threw me out saying, ‘What are you making?’ Then we chanced upon Vicky Donor and decided to do that first and later we came back to Madras Café and made it. The point that I am trying to make is that if you price your film correctly then you can marry commerce and content. But the driver should always be content. I can’t have a production house for the sake of it, make quick money and disappear. That’s not my intent.
Why won’t you choose commercial success like most producers?
As a businessman, I want people to believe in the credibility of my production house, so whatever I create from this production house should be a value asset creation. That is why we create assets out of valuable propositions. For me, valuable propositions are those that last perennially. Rocky Handsome is probably the safest in terms of commercials, but there also I have taken care and seen that I got the right director on board, right content and the right amount of emotion — everything to package a quality film beautifully. That’s how I want to build my production house. So it’s not going to be like a shift shop where I just create crap content, make a hell of a lot of money, load my fee on board and get out. That’s not how I want to position my production house. That’s why monetarily I charge a pittance in all the films that I produce so that I can give everything to the film.
A lot of foreign remakes haven’t done too well of late — like Brothers and Jazbaa — for instance. Are you worried about your film, which is also a remake?
If a film is remade badly, it should not do well. If it is made badly, it will not do well and I am not the one to decide if it’s made badly or not. The audience decides that. Why would I make a film like Rocky Handsome? It is because I really feel that besides the action, it has a very strong emotional hook of a relationship between a man and a six-year-old kid and I feel that’s going to be the driver of this film. Plus, I think I’ve got the right people to make this film.
How close is it to the original?
When I showed this film to Nishi (I always felt he was the right man to make it), he said, ‘Sir I love this film, but I want to give it my own emotional touch and I want to turn it around a bit’ and I told him, ‘Sir, you are the right person for the job; you please turn it around but it has to be very emotional’. And to give credit where its due, Nishi has added his own touch. Korean films are sometimes very dark and gory. If you watch the film, you’ll feel the weight on your heart. But Nishi has even made the action very palatable to women and children. The action is in the space of Jason Statham-meets-Liam Neeson-meets-Steven Seagal. And for that, I had to train differently too.
You are looking like the Hulk. Isn’t this constant bulking up and pulling down bad for the body?
My body has been at a constant for about six years now. It has moved within the range of about 90 to 94 kilos. I have got heavy bones. I am six feet two inches tall and my body shape hasn’t really changed that much. I have stopped lifting a lot of weights. I work out a lot on core training exercises, cross fit and I lift my own body weight. So if I am lifting 200-220 pounds, it’s fantastic. I don’t need to lift anything else.
Your next three films (Rocky Handsome, Dhishoom and Force 2) are all in the same action-thriller space, no?
Rocky Handsome has very hand-to-hand combat. I have done a lot of training with knives. I was training in Thailand for over a month and I swear I turned black and blue. I used to realise that I had cuts everywhere only when I had a shower because my back used to burn. I used to actually stand under the shower and think, ‘Why am I doing so much of action?’ But when I saw the results and the way it panned out on screen, it was worth it. Force 2 has completely different action. And of course, Dishoom is more of a thriller-cum-action comedy. So I am very happy with my three films.
If the sequel of Dostana were made today, would you do it? Or you are no longer in that headspace?
Oh, I would totally love to do Dostana 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… Dostana is a film that was closest to my heart.
Recently, Karan Johar said the film is stuck because you weren’t happy with the story. True?
No. I think Karan was not happy with the second half of the film. I only pushed Karan to make it. I said to him, ‘Karan, people are making bad sequels and we have a good film on hand. I have read what Tarun Mansukhani has written and it is absolutely fantastic; let’s go ahead and do it.’ But we have got to tread carefully on that path because now, too much homosexuality is being portrayed in films differently and the audience shouldn’t say, ‘Come on, we have seen this film now; enough of this.’ I also feel that certain films have to be left if you can’t get them right. But if it were being made, I would love to do it. I only want to figure out what colour trunks I wear in the Dostana sequel.
Why is there such a big gap between your releases?
My last film, Welcome Back, was in the making for two years. The one before that was Madras Café. Rocky Handsome has come pretty quickly on the heels of Welcome Back. When I was not shooting, I was sitting and creating content and that is what I really want to do. I am a very hands-on producer. It’s not like I get four scripts from somewhere and I say let’s make it. I actually sit and research the material myself. I have a team that sits here and searches material. I give a project to them and I say ‘Okay you do this’ and then I call in a writer. Then we sit and create drafts and by the sixth draft if I don’t like it, I throw it in the bin. That has taken me so much time. Right now, I am sitting on a wealth of content and I have invested this time to create content that is not specifically for me. I am trying to create content for Varun, Tiger, Arjun, Aditya Roy Kapur, Ranveer and I am looking at creating content for other actors that I feel could elevate and represent beautifully on screen. That’s what I want to do as a producer.
Doesn’t the actor in you get insecure doing this?
I am actually surprised at myself because I was speaking to Varun on the Dhishoom sets and I said, ‘Varun this is how I’d like to project you and this what I’d like to do.’ I think we both are very happy about the fact that I really want to do this, so I look at myself being complementary to the process rather than competitive. That’s a big advantage I have.
I mean, doesn’t the actor in you become insecure considering he’s taken a backseat?
I’m very happy doing a film that convinces me. If that film takes four years to make, I’ll wait for four years. If I have two films in the same year, I’ll do them. I am not worried. But I think my natural progression would be to produce because I love creating content and there is a certain joy in that. It’s like having a baby when you create content and I would love to see that content being created and if someone gives a face to that content (it could be any of the actors), I’d be very happy as a producer. As an actor, if I feel that I am the best cast for a certain film, I would love to be there but I treat myself equally like the other actors. This is John Abraham the producer speaking and I really care two hoots when I look at recovery. John Abraham ka itna recovery hai toh itne mein banao. I am absolutely fair.
What about regional films? Do you want to produce films in other languages?
There are two regional films that I am very interested in making. One is in Malayalam because my father is a Keralite and I am a big fan of Mammooty sir and Mohan Lal sir. Secondly, Marathi films because Nishikanth (Kamath) and I have been discussing and we’re both likely to co-produce some Marathi films together. These are two spaces that I really want to get into.
Do you plan to direct films as well?
Yes, for sure. I will definitely direct. What I will direct is something I can’t answer because I really don’t know. I have no timelines set for that but if I chance upon something next year, I’ll probably start researching on that. It may take three or four or even five years but I will surely do it. The most powerful man in the film or the captain of the ship is the director. It’s his vision. Actors are a means to an end; that’s it. We can give ourselves all the credit but ultimately the director is the star of the show.
What’s happening to Hera Pheri 3? There are reports that it has been shelved after you upped your price.
I don’t know actually what is happening with the film. I called Feroz Nadiadwala before I left for Abu Dhabi saying, ‘Ferozbhai, you have got my dates from May 15 to July 15. Please use them for Hera Pheri 3.’ Now it’s up to him as a producer whether he wants to do it or doesn’t want to do. About my hike, that’s absolutely untrue. I can go out and say that I haven’t upped my fees in any way.
But it’s okay to do so. After a hit, most actors do that…
But I am also a producer. Honestly, we have seen certain actors go through that phase where they have upped their fees and the films have failed. Everybody suffers, right down to the distribution chain. I don’t want to be in that space. I wouldn’t price myself out of this industry.
Why don’t you come on board as a producer if a film is getting too expensive?
I can insist on coming on board as a co-producer but there are certain films like Hera Pheri where I can’t because it’s Feroz’s film and secondly those are not the kind of films that I want to do. I am more the Madras Café type.
Akshay Kumar and Ekta Kapoor have more than one production house. They make different films under the banners.
I am very clear about my ambitions. I am very clear that I want to be the Harvey Weinstein of this country. I am very clear that 10 years down the line, I want to be the Rupert Murdoch of the entertainment business. I am very clear that my word has to be held with a lot of weight because there are a lot of things that I will say that will carry a lot of weight in the future. And when you look back and introspect and archive what I have said, it’s going to be pretty much the same. There is a certain vision I have. And I know I will get there; it’s just about how and when I will get there. So I want to choose; I have a very clear vision on the kinds of films I want to produce. I am not going to deviate and have five banners to produce five different kinds of films.
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