Life is beautiful: John

I have good news for you and bad. The good is that John Abraham is returning to the screen today after New York in June 2009 with Nagesh Kukunoor’s Aashayein.
The bad is that he is not the eye candy of Dostana in this film. To get into character for this sensitive role, during the two-and-half months’ making of Aashayein John brought his weight down to 76 kilos.
Which is a mere shadow of the Bollywood hunk’s otherwise 92 kilos of brawn and sex appeal.Nikhat Kazmi, the TOI’s renowned film critic, asked the actor at the preview of Aashayein in Delhi, “Is that you at the end of the film? You look a bag of bones!” Which is revealing a lot, actually, because little is known about this film that was made in 2008, much before John and his famous butt hit big time and made it to the Sexiest Man in Asia list.
He laughed and said, “It is a film with a sweet, credible message. Whoever sees it with their heart in right place, will really like it. I’m happy it’s actually being released now by Reliance BIG Pictures because audiences are being receptive to films like Udaan and Tere Bin Laden. They will find a connect in Aashayein.” He himself did right away when Nagesh approached him with the script.
The film was then to be called 90 Days. “As I read it, I broke down and cried,” revealed John honestly. “I stopped reading, gathered myself, and started again. I thought, this must be my state of mind, because I was at an emotional low then. But I couldn’t stop crying. When I finished reading, I had tears in my eyes, but I was also smiling. That’s what this film does to you. It fills you with hope, it leaves you elated, it makes you realise life is beautiful...”
He knew he wanted to do the film. But Nagesh had a rider. “Your physicality... you cannot be John Abraham in this film, you have to break down emotionally and physically,” he warned the actor. John, who was already down emotionally, thought, what better time! “As actors we are selfish,” he admitted. The weight loss was more difficult. However, Nagesh gave him a lead time by shooting the film in a linear manner — first scene first, last scene last. “So I could lose the 15-20 kilos in two-and-half months without harming myself,” said John. He’s now glad he made the sacrifice because, after two successive hits in Dostana and New York, he believes it’s important for him to have an Aashayein in his filmography. “It will give me respect and credibility in the industry,” he admitted.
Which is fine, but what about the sex symbol status? “I like it,” he replied promptly. “I can’t say I don’t like that space. Though I’m a complete softie. People see through my muscularity. They are not scared to come and talk to me. Or to feel my abs and arms and see if they are real! I don’t mind that. But I also like being appreciated for my performances. As in New York. Hopefully Aashayein will do that for me, too. It’s like a wake-up call, this film.
It’s about achieving your dreams in this lifetime, about doing the things for yourself today that you keep putting off for tomorrow... believing life to be endless, until you realise it’s too late.” John Abraham fans, I know, are already saying, “Chalo, let’s see him in this avatar as well.” But the hunk will be back on October 15, in Jhoota Hi Sahi. It’s a rom-com and, God bless, in this film he’s 92 kilos of eye candy again. All 6 feet 1 inch of him!
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