John Abraham, who is all set for his next release The Diplomat, talks about his career trajectory
Actor-producer John Abraham says he has often been written off in the industry in his over two-decade-long career but his audience has kept him going, something that he respects and wants to repay by telling good stories.
The actor, whose next release The Diplomat is inspired by true incidents, said the film will, hopefully, resonate with viewers in the brightest way possible.
"People have, in the past, said that Parmanu marked my 1.0 version because I'd disappeared for four years. These are obituaries that are written every day about me, and it's fine, I don't have a problem with it. My career has been built on criticism, I enjoy it,” Abraham said an interview.
"The only thing that's kept me going in this is my audience. People in the trade, producers, critics they all judge you by numbers and I get all that, and I respect that. That's business. But the only people that have kept me going and have made me survive is my audience. And I made 'The Diplomat' for that audience," he added.
The film industry had a terrible year in terms of box office and Abraham believes it is now important to focus on the basics that make any story click with the audience and that's writing.
“My vision as a producer and as an actor is just to create good stories and reach out to a wider audience. Do I want the numbers? I want the Rs 100 crore, 200s, 300s and the 400 crores. We all want that, but we want that with good stories. That's the difference.
“We as an audience and trade are putting too much stress into the bifurcation of how the money is being spent. We've to cut all this noise, go back to writing, go back to where we started from and why we wanted to make films." Admitting that he also has been “guilty” of prioritising box office, Abraham said he now recognises the significance of well-crafted stories.
Citing the example of “The Diplomat”, the actor said it's important that the movie, directed by Shivam Nair of Naam Shabana and “Special Ops”, attains commercial success as that will empower him and his team to continue making such films.
Inspired by true events, the film features Abraham in the role of diplomat JP Singh, who steps in to rescue an Indian woman named Uzma (Sadia Khateeb of Raksha Bandhan fame) from Pakistan.
The actor said he was captivated by the script of “The Diplomat” from the first reading.
“I love geopolitics, so I thought this looks interesting, and I fell in love with what I read, credit to Ritesh Shah (writer). For me, it's about the story; it's immaterial whether you see a woman or a man in front. If the painting is beautiful, all the characters look beautiful,” the actor said.
The film is scheduled to be released in theatres on March 14.
