John Abraham hasn’t had a big release in some time. And that certainly has made the actor impatient. He is eagerly waiting for his upcoming film Rocky Handsome. The actor spoke to Gaurav Sharma
This is your second outing with Nishikant Kamat and this too is an action film.
(Smiles) Yes, it is nice to be back with Nishikant once again. We did Force in 2011 and it was big hit. The best thing about Force was it was raw action that we had shown and the audience liked it. The kind of action we had shown in Force was not high on special effects but more about power and hand-to-hand and combat. It was a stylized film. This time too Nishikant has done a done a great job. Rocky Handsome too is high on action with a lovely story and the action and the story complement each other.
But the film got an A-certificate.
Yes, we were quite surprised because we were not expecting it. The only reason for the film getting an A certificate is because of the action. We have tried to show action in a very different way in this film but unfortunately we were given an A certificate but you can’t help it. If there is action in a film it means it will show a lot of blood but everything isn’t in our hands. We have tried to show action in a very sleek and stylized manner. They could have given us a U/A certificate but we unfortunate.
Will that actually keep a section of the audience, primarily the youngsters, away from your film?
I don’t think so. We applied for a U/A certificate but we were told that the film deals with people who are more than 16 years old. So we couldn’t do much. But the film has a very touching story and I am confident about a lot of youngsters watching the film.
You too had to work a lot on your body for this film.
See (Smiles) I am already a fitness freak but this film did definitely demand a lot more from me. Since we wanted to show raw hand-to-hand combat and that too in the most stylized form, Nishikant wanted me to learn two action forms Aikido and Hapkido, for which I had to spend a lot of time in Thailand. I also stayed there in a shanty and used to take a tuktuk to travel to the place where some of the greatest and best Aikido and Hapkido fighters train. It was a very rigorous schedule and I had to at times train for more than 14-15 hours. We have some very high-octane action scenes in the film and that will give the audience an understanding of the kind of hard work that went into shooting all those sequences.
You are also making a sequel to Force.
Yes, Force 2 is again going to be high on action and I am really hopeful about the film. Once again a lot of hard work went into Force 2.
In fact, you fractured your knee during the shoot of Force 2.
That was a nightmare. We were in Hungary when the incident happened and as language was a big problem, things became even more difficult. The doctors failed to understand what I wanted to say and in the end I was lying in bed with morphine in my body. I had to undergo three surgeries but that’s fine. I am ready to walk the extra mile if the role demands extra effort from me.
You will be seen alongside Shruti Hassan in Rocky handsome.
(Smiles) Oh I must she that she is a very committed actress and I really liked her professionalism. She has done a very good job in the film and I am sure people will like her character and performance in the film.
You are also producing quite a few interesting films. Is it a conscious decision to produce films on unconventional subjects?
To some extent yes but it is not that I keep looking for subjects that are unconventional. The basic idea is to produce films that have good stories that will entertain the audience. But first and foremost, one has to believe in a subject. If I believe in a subject and feel that this story needs to be told and have the confidence that it will be accepted then I go for it. A film is not always about big stars but it is all about a good story told in a very simple style. (TWF)
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