Bips doesn't need protection: John

John Abraham has no problem with putting himself out there as a good looking man for women to ogle at, so long as it doesn’t take away from the seriousness of his cinema

Your butt has graced countless magazine covers and is now more famous than a lot of other faces, but don’t you think it’s time you moved on?
I have moved upwards since then and though I have been accused of underplaying, my style of acting hasn’t changed. It is just that people’s perception has changed and underprojection is in.

So you are not disassociating yourself from your Dostana butt?
No, not at all. Karan had specifically said that “John please don’t forget that cinema is a visual medium. You’ve been accepted for the way you look; everybody strives to look good and in your case there is no effort.” I’ve worked hard for this body.

Do you now understand what women feel when their bodies are under men’s scrutiny?
I have always understood how women have been positioned in society and in cinema, and I was happy that I got an opportunity to see a man out there. Why not? You know, we men always put women up there and judge them. When I entered the industry I was told that men don’t really need to be that great but women need to be perfect; I think it’s beyond time now that our men start to look good because your audience today is predominantly women. So I think it’s important that men look good as well. So let’s not ignore that audience and if I am someone who caters to the visual appeal as far as women are concerned, I look on it as a very big compliment.

What makes you choose relatively offbeat films like No Smoking or Aashayein and where do you see this taking you?
I’ve always benchmarked myself on where I want to be five or ten years down the line. The biggest advantage that I have or I believe I possess, is that I am very secure. I have zero insecurity as to what’s happening around me. What would probably be a wrong choice to the world in terms of No smoking was for me a right choice because I enjoyed that space. At the same time, I enjoyed Dostana. My choices are made by sheer gut feel. Whenever I have gone by a group of people telling me what to do, I’ve always failed. And whenever I’ve gone by my gut, even though the film has not commercially done well, I’ve been appreciated. I am very serious about my cinema. For me, big filmmakers are filmmakers who have big ideas and who are willing to take big risks.

But taking risks also means sometimes a film doesn’t find a taker, like with Aashayein. When that happens, is it heart-breaking or can you just move on?
It’s not heart-breaking but it’s unfortunate. It’s unfortunate because Aashayein was a film where I put in my blood, sweat and energy and I believe that it’s one of my most sincere performances.

Let me draw an analogy. Think of a school kid who goes out on a football field to play, think of the fact that he is surrounded by five other players and he is being kicked, and he goes down and when it’s over he gets up and says “are you done?” and he walks away. That kid is me. I am very used to getting hit from all sides. I’m not saying I’m ostracised by society or crucified by this industry. I am part of this industry but getting hit is going to be normal for me. I always knew that I wanted to wake up the next morning being happy with the choices I made. No one can take my self-respect away from me. I have made choices that could probably be right or wrong for the outside world but for me, I’ve always been right.

How fascinated are you by your own popularity?
I am not at all fascinated by my popularity, but I am humbled by it. I was flying to Hyderabad and I was sleeping when someone tapped me and I woke up with a start. He asked me if I recognised him and when I said no, he said, “I wanted to fly and spoke to you about it when you had come to my college and you said ‘go follow your dreams and go take that exam and fly’.” I asked him what he was doing now and he said, “I’m flying this plane that you are sitting in” and that’s what fascinates me... my connect with the audience, not my popularity.

What is the one trapping of stardom that you like the most and couldn’t do without?
Seeing places, travelling, meeting people. I’d die without it. I want to go to the Arctic and Antarctic pole before they melt.

And what is the one trapping that you hate?
Honestly, for me, there are all pros and no cons.

What’s it like going out in public with the very sexy Bi pasha Basu on your arm?
When we go out, she’s very approachable, though I see men getting intimidated by her. She doesn’t need a John Abraham to protect her. In fact she jokingly says, “if they are shorter than me, I’ll handle it, if they are taller than me, you come in.” But actually nothing matters to her, she is a very strong individual and I am a strong individual too. So we don’t need to coochie coo and be this couple in public.

How true are the rumours of your straying?
I love travelling, that’s the way I stray. I just love travelling and I am a very, very approachable person and more often than not, I ask more questions than there is need for because I love knowing people from different places. So if I meet a certain crew member of an airline or I go to a certain place, and I get into a conversation and if that’s misconstrued, it’s fine but I am a traveller. I love going out, but I don’t stray in a relationship.

In a recent interview Bipasha said that if anyone came between you and her she would kick butt. Was she referring to yours or the other person’s?
(Laughs) I’m sure she was referring to the other person’s butt. Like your first question said, mine is too famous.

When she was shooting for Lamhaa in Kashmir, and she left and came back suddenly, the story was that you were up to something that she had got to hear of and was distressed enough to return...
No, absolutely untrue, the reason was the lack of security that was provided there at that point. She needed to come back till there was complete security. Let me tell you, there’s always a slip between the cup and the lip and if something goes wrong, there’s no turning back. She was completely justified in coming back at that point of time, till the producers provided ample security for her, which they did when she went back.