THE HUNK NEXT DOOR
He is fortune's favored child. By his own admission, he was no great shakes acedemically. He was fond of sports though, and took part in 100 or 200 meter dash. He was also the captain of the school's soccer team. He was born and brought up in Andheri, Mumbai. (birthday 17th December, 1972). He studied in Bombay Scottish School and later Jai Hind College to complete his BA Economics. Subsequently he did a management degree and started working in an advertising agency as a media planner. As the legend goes, one day a model failed to turn up for a shoot and John stood in for him. That one moment changed his life forever. Soon, he found himself a sought after model. He appeared for Manhunt International competition and won it. He was one of the most successful models on the ramp and in print.
BABY STEPS IN MOVIE WORLD
He was offered Asambhav by Rajiv Rai, which did not work out eventually. The movie was made with Arjun Rampal, another model turned actor. This offer, however, brought his attention to film world and he attended Namit Kishore acting classes, and started watching movie dvds closely to study actors. For his debut he was offered a movie being made by Pooja Bhatt, Jism(2003). Jism was not the run of the mill hollywood film. It was more woman oriented and he played a loser male manipulated by Bipasha Basu. The movie was a moderate hit. The men went gaga over Bipasha and the women were wowed by John. His next, Saaya co-starring Tara Sharma was a paranormal movie. It sank at the box office. The third movie under the Mahesh Bhatt banner was Paap with Udita Goswami. Despite its breathtaking locales of a buddist monastary set in the hills, it did not do too well either. Lakeer came and went without anyone noticing.
It wasnt as if John was not appreciated. He was 6'1" tall with a worked out body. Not pumped up, but lean and sleek. His looks were deadly and smile gorgeous. He was made for posters and fanclubs. He was just waiting for the right break to shoot him to the top. And it came soon. His next release was Dhoom, in 2004. The movie signalled a new era in filmmaking. It was almost hollywoodish, with romance pushed into quick corners, accent on action and speed. The movie lasted only 2 hours and viewers were no longer subjected to long drawn sequences to drag the movie to full 3 hours. John played a villian here to Abhishek Bachchan's cop hero and the movie smashed the box office.
HE IS HERE TO STAY
Madhoshi and Elan came but failed to conquer the box office. Karam with Priyanka Chopra was noticed and appreciated by some. Kaal was a Karan Johar movie with a difference. It was directed by Soham and was again, a paranormal movie. It was a moderate hit even though Ajay Devgan's presence was a major factor. Mahesh Manjrekar's Virudh had Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore and Sanjay Dutt along with John Abraham. But yet, John was appreciated (and wolf whistled at by girls). The movie was a hit.
The feather in John's cap came with Deepa Mehta's Water, which silenced the critcs who said John was just eye candy and could not act. The movie had a late release in India but was shown widely in the west and was the canadian entry for the best foreign film for Oscars. John and Lisa Ray who co-starred in <Water were feted on the red carpet on way to the Oscar ceremony. It was a proud moment for the actor.
Garam Masala (2005) was a typical cheeky Priyadarshan comedy. John got to match steps with Akshay Kumar and 3 hot girls. The movie swept the box office and for a change the girls got an eyeful looking at Akshay and John.
2006 brought Zinda. The movie focussed on Sanjay Dutt and John Abraham. Sanjay Dutt was a veteran actor, and John was relatively new. But he held his own again Sanjay Dutt and delivered a fine performance of a man haunted by his past and bent upon wrecking vengeance. a href="http://www.luckykabutar.com/dvd/Zinda.lkc">Zinda again, enjoyed moderate success at the box office. It was John's second outing as a villian and he was proving that he was here to stay. 2006 also brought Taxi No 9211. The movie had John Abraham with Nana Patekar. The movie was a moderate hit and was really appreciated for its different treatment.
Next came the movie that ran on John Abraham star power. It was Kabir Khan's Kabul Express. The movie had an international cast and was shot in Kaabul. John had the able support of Arshad Warsi and the actors were feted for their bravery in shooting the movie under such extenuating circumstances. The movie did quite well too.
Baabul (2006) sank faster than the Titanic, but the movie was termed slow and there were bigger stars to take the flak, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Rani Mukherjee. John was fresh off the success of Kabul Express and was not harmed by the movie.
John was just one of the six jodis of Salaam-e-ishq, but his story was seen as the most poignant of the lot. His pairing with Vidya Balan was unconventional but fresh. The movie was a big success though it was divided by six, salaam-e-six.
GOOD TIMES LIE AHEAD
His forthcoming releases include the much awaited Anurag Kashyap and Vishal Bhardwaj (as producer) movie No Smoking. He works alongside his real life girlfriend Bipasha Basu in this movie. Anurag Kashyap was all praises for John and defended him soundly against attacks on his acting prowess.
All said and done, John Abraham has proved that a middle class boy with no background and no godfather in the film world can also carve a foothold for himself. It is almost as it luck was seeking him and chasing him to turn him into a winner than the other way around. But John also scores full marks on basis of gorgeous looks, grounded behaviour and professionalism.
He has been around for just four years. He is still a relative newcomer, and has miles to go. Here is wishing him good luck (more of it) and a long innings at the box office.
GOSSSSSIP
John and Bips met up during the filming of Jism in 2002 and have been together since. Their relationship is periodically hauled over the coals by the press but they maintain a cool facade in face of such allegations.
John had to face 'link-up' with Vidya Balan during the making of Salaam-e-ishq but he pooh poohed the charge.
Kareena Kapoor came out with the statement that John was the most expressionless actor she had seen on the TV show Koffee With Karan. Oh Lady ! Gimme me a Break ! Saying that sitting next to your candy floss boyfriend Shahid Kapur ? HA HA !
Bips retaliated by claiming on the next show of KwK that Kareena had 'too many expressions' Attagirl !
FILMOGRAPHY
- 26. Kamagata Maru (2007) (in production)
- 25. Exclusion (2008) (pre-production) (attached)
- 24. Happy Birthday (2007/I) (pre-production)
- 23. No Smoking...! (2007) (post-production) .... Sashank
- 22. Is Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon (2007) (completed)
- 21. Hattrick (2007) .... Wicket Bacha music video
- 20. Salaam-E-Ishq (2007) .... Ashutosh Raina
- 19. Baabul (2006) .... Rajat
- 18. Kabul Express (2006) .... Suhel Khan
- 17. Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) .... DJ at club
- 16. Taxi No. 9211 (2006) .... Jai Mittal
- 15. Zinda (2006) .... Rohit Chopra
- 14. Shikhar (2005) .... Special appearance
- 13. Garam Masala (2005) .... Shyam "Sam"
- 12. Water (2005) .... Narayan
- 11. Viruddh... Family Comes First (2005) .... Amar V. Patwardhan
- 10. Kaal (2005) .... Krish Thapar
- 9. Karam (2005) .... John
- 8. Elaan (2005) .... Abhimanyu
- 7. Madhoshi (2004) .... Aman
- 6. Dhoom (2004) .... Kabir
- 5. Aetbaar (2004) .... Aryan Trivedi
- 4. Lakeer - Forbidden Lines (2004) .... Saahil
- 3. Paap (2003) .... Shiven
- 2. Saaya (2003) .... Dr. Akash "Akki" Bhatnagar
- 1. Jism (2003) .... Kabir Lal