‘GONE' ABRAHAM! CAN JOHN SURVIVE THE ‘WORST ACTOR' TAG? May 2009

THERE’S A RUMOUR doing the industry rounds. A few weeks ago, director David Dhawan was shooting his next film ‘Hook Ya Crook’ in Hyderabad. Dhawan, who has worked with some of the finest actors in the industry, is known to have a cool temperament. Rarely does he lose his cool and the film unit was in for a rude shock when he tried to keep his frustrations in check when lead actor John Abraham couldn’t get his lines right. It was literally the test of David’s patience. Unable to contain his disappointment, the director had no option but to call for a break. Even John’s co-actors in the film, Shreyas Talpade and Kay Kay Menon, were shocked to see the tension erupting on the set. When we tried contacting John, he simply refused to respond. And the news died its own death within the confines of the unit.

- Sumita Chakraborty

Admittedly, this is not the first time that John has found himself in such a messy situation. In the past too, we have heard about directors like Anurag Kashyap, Nagesh Kukunoor, and Vivek Agnihotri being compelled to confront similar predicaments when they worked with the glorified stud muffin. Sadly, the industry is too diplomatic (read scared) to admit it publicly. But at the same time, they wouldn’t mind sniggering about the actor in hushed tones.

For the hunky actor, it isn’t a situation he asked to be in. The world knows that John is not a trained actor and the dashing dude is shrewd enough to know his limitations. In fact, at the outset of his film career, the successful model never entertained the thought that he would rustle up so much hype. Initially, he grabbed eyeballs because of his achingly built physique but the problem started when along with hype came the excess baggage of expectations.

Today, it is the same body, which he flaunts at the drop of a hat, and the venerable ‘poster boy’ status that often works against him. Admits John’s friend and director Kabir Khan, “Beyond a point, if you are going to focus on the body, it is definitely going to go against you. If today, John wants to be taken as an actor and not as a pin-up, it will be very difficult.

Like Aishwarya Rai’s beauty prevented her from getting many roles. John’s physicality is such that he just cannot play any character. He just cannot play any normal office-going, person.” '