John Abraham is sniffling. A cold has been bogging him down for three days. But the actor, producer and social activist genially shares his experiences of working in Dishoom , a buddy cop film directed by Rohit Dhawan, in which Varun Dhawan and he play the buddies.
The movie revolves around the unlikely pairing of a cop from India and another from the Middle East. The duo has 36 hours to find India’s top batsman, Viraj Sharma, and bring him back for the India-Pakistan final.
“Kabir Shergill’s character is fantastic,” says Abraham about his role. “He’s a guy you wouldn’t mess with, but he’s hurt and depressed on having been dumped. So his attitude towards life is to destroy everyone from this place of vengeance. The last thing he wants is to meet some rookie who will mess things up for him.”
And that is exactly what happens when Junaid Ansari (Varun Dhawan) joins hands with him for the case. “Ansari was probably born and brought up in India but his parents moved to the Middle East,” Dhawan says. “While he lives and works there, his heart belongs hereHe keeps talking about India, our government, our films, our songs, but he’s not Indian!” In keeping with his character, Dhawan sports a tanned look for the film and learnt a little Arabic for the role.
Both want to bring buddy films back to Bollywood; movies like Sholay (1975), Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1995) and the Dhoom series that took off in 2004. “But we bring it back with a small twist,” says Dhawan, “because Dishoom is about man, boy and dog. The dog actually plays a really important role.”
While the film’s focal point is the inseparable relationship that grows between the duo, Abraham is known to create great camaraderie off-screen as well, whether it be with Abhishek Bachchan during Dostana (2008) or Akshay Kumar during Desi Boyz (2011). Talking about Dostana , Abraham laughs and says, “I mean, who would love kissing me so much otherwise?”
Abraham and Dhawan both believe that the bond they share in Dishoom goes beyond just acting. “Neither of us has to be involved in every promotional activity to prove a point that we each belong to the film. Because I was sick, I wasn’t able to go for a couple of dance shows,” Abraham says, “yet Varun covered up for me and didn’t let my absence be felt.” Dhawan echoes the same sentiments and goes on to add that their on-screen jodi is just as lively and strong as their friendship in real life.
Talking about their love for each other, the younger star reveals how much he admired Abraham since the start of his career. “Back in the ’90s John had a big effect on pop culture, and I grew up during that time. A lot of girls I knew had a huge crush on him. I remember when John had grown his hair out for Dhoom , I had long hair too and thought it was really cool.” Softly, he adds, “I didn’t have a bike though.”
Abraham even stepped into the big-brother role when the younger actor fainted on the sets. “So I went to his room and changed his diet. And what I really love about him is that he graciously listens to you.” But Abraham even mischievously stepped out of the role of the caring brother to start a small face-off between the two Dhawans. “I know Rohit very well, having worked with him for Desi Boyz before. And I knew how to get to him. So I went around the sets saying Varun defeated his elder brother in arm wrestling,” Abraham laughs and adds, “and Rohit just had to try and prove me wrong.” The result however, was in favour of Abraham’s prank.
Buddy films are historically known to have male leads but Hollywood has broken away from this trend on several occasions with films like the a road trip classic like Thelma and Louise (1991) or the more recent buddy cop film The Heat (2013). With Angry Indian Goddesses (2015) being considered India’s first true female buddy film, the genre is largely unexplored in Bollywood. When asked about who they’d like to see in a similar production in the industry, Abraham thinks for a while, laughs and says, “The fact that I’m still thinking gives you an answer.” But he follows that with, “I’d love to see Kangana in one of the roles because I think she’s very cool. And Sonakshi, after seeing her trailer for Akira . That girl can do some kickass action.” Dhawan spends less time mulling it over; he says he’d love to see Deepika and Alia do something like Dishoom .
The two stars went on to talk about what they share with the roles they play in the movie. “I think Junaid Ansari is a little nerdy,” Dhawan says, “and he carries around a notepad to diligently take notes. And while he’s really adventurous, I’m very different from him.” Abraham, though, thinks he’s quite similar to the no-nonsense cop who is soft on the inside. That seems quite plausible the way he talks about performing daredevil stunts himself one minute, and how he describes his love for aviyal in the next.
The writer is an intern with The Hindu
