‘I’m politically aware, but I’m apolitical’

John Abraham on his admiration of Sylvester Stallone, the lure of the political thriller and playing the action hero

Nationalistic boogeyman: Abraham is emerging as the next patriotic action hero

In the midst of his shoot for Anees Bazmee’s Pagalpanti, actor John Abraham manages to make time for a telephonic interview. A plastic packet crinkles over the line, as the actor winds down and squeezes in a few bites during his tête-à-tête. Bazmee’s ensemble comedy stands in contrast to the string of choices that have put Abraham in the ranks of Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar as a patriotic action star. Something more reflective of his latest selection of roles is his upcoming release – Robbie Grewal’sspy thriller Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW).

Like a chameleon

Set against the 1971 war,

RAW

follows Rehmatulla Ali, an Indian espionage agent essayed by Abraham who goes undercover in Pakistan. “He’s a theatre actor recruited by RAW to serve his country,” he reveals adding that Ali’s ability to glide between characters with ease makes him an enviable recruit. “There are about 18 different looks,” he continues, “I’ve played everything from a 26-year-old guy to an 85-year-old man. So it was mentally and physically exhausting.”

Basing the film on true events meant relying heavily on research which, Abraham shares, Grewal undertook. “[Grewal’s] father worked in the military intelligence for four years, so I was very fortunate to get access to [such] information. The entire ’71 space [in the film] is factual,” and without revealing too much, the actor adds that Ali is a composite of three real life people.

Quantum leap

While the espionage thriller comes in the aftermath of the Pulwama attacks, and in the days leading up to the general elections, Grewal has emphasised that the timing was accidental. The director has said that

RAW

has been seven years in the making. But Abraham’s line-up of films seems more deliberate. After

Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran

(2018), which was based on India’s 1998 nuclear tests, and the vigilante action film released on Independence Day,

Satyamev Jayate

(2018), Abraham is cementing his image as the next patriotic action hero. On whether he is consciously charting this path, the actor says, “I love political thrillers. I’m politically very aware, but I’m an apolitical person. That’s why I like making espionage dramas or political thrillers – you educate your audience and entertain them at the same time.”

Abraham says that producing films like Madras Café (2013), based on the Sri Lankan civil war, along with Parmanu was an attempt to delve into subjects that intrigued him, he says, “After becoming a producer, there has been a quantum leap in my performances. Because I’ve been involved and sure about [myself] as an actor.” But the actor isn’t the first to blend action and patriotism. From Ajay Devgn’s potboiler Zameen (2003) to his role as the model and upright citizen in Raid (2018), or even the list of films from the jingoistic Rustom (2016) to the unabashedly patriotic Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017) by the poster-boy of this genre, Akshay Kumar, Abraham is taking a well-trodden route. Abraham’s next production – in which he’ll also star – is Batla , about the 2008 Batla House encounter. “[It’s] the mood of the country,” says Abraham about the stream of patriotic films. He simply adds, “The situation at this point of time makes audiences want to go in and see something that’s based on the country, and there’s nothing wrong with that.” If this is what contemporary action films look like, ask him what their leads are, and he jokes, “Today’s action hero is John Abraham.” Pegging ‘vulnerability’ as the uniqueness of today’s action leads, Abraham says, “India doesn’t run on action. India runs on emotion.” A glance at Akshay Kumar’s recent releases and the fact that Satyamev Jayate and Parmanu are Abraham’s highest grossing films – with him as the sole lead – reflects that.

Role model

But when he stepped into Bollywood, Abraham shares that all he wanted to do was land a punch like Sylvester Stallone in Rocky (1976). “I really worshipped the ground he walked on,” laughs the actor. But what came his way instead was Jism (2003), an erotic thriller. “I think you can’t make plans for yourself. Things just happen in life,” he says. When asked if he has any plans to shed his image, Abraham says, “I like the action hero tag as well, but I’ll actually mix it up.” With Pagalpanti , a far cry from the other political films on his plate, Abraham hopes to do just that.