John Abraham

I Can’t Be Part Of The Crowd...

Is there a sense of validation in the fact that you’ve managed to stir debate with Batla House?

From day one, Nikkhil [Advani, director] told me that it’s not only about an encounter, but we are narrating the story of a man and his experiences post that encounter. We wanted to make it a human story which I am glad has been appreciated by the audience. In fact, DCP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav’s wife Shobhana Yadav called me three days after the film released and said, ‘You have shown everything about my husband exactly the way it is, including the pauses. It felt like I was watching him on the big screen.’ Sanjeev was so thankful because there were times when I could go overboard to play to the gallery but I decided to play him. He told Nikkhil, ‘I am proud of me.’ For me, that was my biggest validation. Priya (Runchal, his wife) loved the film. My father wanted to congratulate Nikkhil for making a beautiful film, an acknowledgement he has never made in the past.

Reinvented and reinvigorated, John Abraham on the most gratifying film of his career, Batla House, and surviving, despite rejecting Bollywood camps