Writer Aseem Arrora’s actioner is a tribute to the Gorkha regiment
Hiren Kotwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 14, 2020)

The nationwide lockdown coming in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak was believed to be the best time for screenplay writers. Aseem Arrora busts the myth. The writer of the Akshay Kumar-starrer Bellbottom, the Ek Villain sequel, the John Abraham-fronted Gorkha and Luv Ranjan’s urban comedy, says he works maximum six hours a day as against the usual 14-16 hours. “I have to look after my two-year-old son Shivaay who wants to play all day,” he sighs.

Akshay’s espionage drama will roll in Scotland in a few days. Last Wednesday, the entire crew left for London, from where they headed to Scotland. Since commercial flights are not operational, the makers arranged for chartered flights to London. Each crew member is being given a safety kit comprising PPE, masks, sanitisers, oximeters and other mandatory essentials. “Bellbottom is set in the turbulent ’80s when the intelligence agencies of countries like China and Pakistan were very active. We were just 10 odd years old then, with RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) becoming independent of the Intelligence Bureau, so it’s amazing that we could neutralise threats to India’s security. The film is inspired by real events,” he informs. As for the title, Aseem says, “It is set in an era when bell bottoms were in fashion and the connection our protagonist has with them, is all I can say for now.”

Aseem’s interest in espionage and the army stems from his Sainik School background. “I couldn’t clear the (NDA) National Defence Academy exams because I didn’t have the perfect eyesight and had to leave after three years,” he rues, adding that his fascination with the uniform, discipline and dedication remained and motivated him to read more on the subject. “The idea of Bellbottom came when I stumbled upon a piece of information during my reading. Since not much literature was available, I contacted those who could tell me more,” he says, adding that while intel officers never reveal their real identity as their acts of bravery are contradictory to their image and the agency’s operations, the film will share some names and give these real heroes their due.

Aseem is equally passionate about Gorkha, an action thriller which pays tribute to the Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army. Set against the premise of an army background, the story is set in hinterland of India and has a strong emotional quotient. The film addresses a social vice that John, a polished, educated guy who finds himself in a world totally alien to him, fights. “The social vice is the villain of the story,” says the scriptwriter who has also authored a book on the mananimal relationship and the poaching menace. “It’s a story of a forest ranger and a tiger cub,” he reveals. When asked if he has spoken about it to John, who’s previously campaigned to save tigers, Aseem says, “I was already in talks with another production house before I met John. But in due course of time, I will talk to him about it.”

John Abraham on how to ensure longevity in the industry and why he wants to go easy on workouts
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 10, 2020)

Mumbai Saga, Attack, Satyameva Jayate 2… Going by the line-up, 2020 will mark the return of John Abraham, the action hero.
Well, barring Attack, which is purely an action entertainer, the other two have elements of action but are not strictly in this genre. Satyameva Jayate 2 tackles social issues in an entertaining way, while Mumbai Saga is the true story of gangster Amar Naik. I wouldn’t say it works or is a safe bet, but it’s something I enjoy doing and with a lot of ease.

Apart from Tiger, no younger actor owns this space like Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Hrithik Roshan and you. What’s your USP?
Every action hero has a different positioning and I revel in the raw and real. People like to see me as this larger-than-life guy who bangs heads against the wall, lifts and smashes bikes and cars and takes down a lot of people at one time. And I enjoy playing to the gallery sometimes.

Satyameva Jayate played to the gallery and succeeded in its novelty. But will the exaggerated machismo, which is rooted in ’80s cinema, work a second time? The appeal seems to have waned with Marjaavaan...
While we will continue to play to the gallery in our quest for a larger audience SMJ 2 will be very different in its treatment. The original was primarily a film for the masses. This time, we aim to get the classes in, too, by tackling relevant issues. In the action, too, we are steering clear of what was done in Part 1 or in Marjaavaan. John Abraham will still do what someone believes he can, but I promise, it won’t be over-the-top, and it will be super-entertaining.

Buzz is, it’s going to be John versus John versus John. In short, you are playing a triple role.
I hope that’s true, but Milap (Zaveri, writer-director) is still in the process of developing certain characters and he might like me to play other roles, too. But that’s still up for a lot of discussion. So, I can’t say if there’s going to be one, two or three of me in the film.

While you evolved as an actor with films like Parmanu, Batla House and Madras Café, Pagalpanti pulled you down, which was disappointing for the audience.
It was disconcerting for me too. I’m not going to pass on the buck or get into postmortems. I enjoyed making Pagalpanti and I stand by it. The other three films were my productions and while, as an actor I want to entertain, as a producer, I want to make meaningful films. I consciously separate the two, but when they come together, it’s an explosive combo. I’m walking on eggshells with Attack, asking myself if the audience will accept it, but backing my debutant director, Lakshya Raj Anand all the way. It’s a risk, but I believe people are tired of the regular action films and I want to effect a change. I’m not afraid of failure. You are insecure only if you feel the pressure to succeed.

You gave two years exclusively to your own production, Parmanu. Then, just when everyone was beginning to believe you’d focus on one or two films a year, comes a spate of announcements. Have you gone back to being just an actor with the producer taking a backseat?
In advertising, I learnt that half of what you spend goes waste, you just don’t know which half. From all these announcements, I really don’t know which ones will finally go on the floors. I like to take my time with my films, my own productions are all curated over three-four years and are high on content. Nothing is a proposal. As an actor, I love the scripts of both SMJ2 and Ek Villain 2. I wouldn’t force a sequel just to make some money.

Many actors, who have turned producers, have confessed to doing certain films to raise funds for a passion project, a new house, a farm and such-like.
I don’t use money as an excuse to do a film. That would be disastrous in the long run. I believe if you treat money as a by-product and the film is the central issue, the probability of your longevity is higher. I do films because I want to. But I charge what I think I deserve. I’m not putting a gun to a producer’s head. If he feels I am not worth it, we go our separate ways, else we work together. Sometimes I make certain choices, like Pagalpanti, and I stand by them. If our film failed, it’s not the end of the world. Will I stop doing such films? No. If I get a script that I’m entertained by, I will do it.

The word ‘content; has made a comeback in our cinema…
(Laughs) Better late than never.

How does that feel for the man who gambled with Vicky Donor, Madras Café, Parmanu and more recently, Batla House?
I wish they had woken up to this 15 years ago or that I had come 15 years later. That way, I could have bypassed the earlier motions of filmmaking. Ten years ago, if you made a content-driven film and it failed, you would say, “Thank God, I’m making a commercial film next, maybe that will work.” (Smiles) Today, it’s the reverse.

True. Content films are commercial today…
And commercial films are niche. Content is the star. Typical proposals and formulae are not selling any more. We introduced Ayushmann Khurrana seven years ago, I will launch another newcomer and I will convince studios to put their money on young directors and different stories. Besides Attack, I’m working with Nikkhil Advani on Gorkha, which takes off next year. It’s one of the most hard-hitting films I’ve done. Then, there’s Ray with Abhishek Sharma which I can proudly claim is unlike anything you’ve seen before in Indian cinema. Appreciation for a film like Batla House means there’s a lot of pressure on me to perform better and choose the best. The audience today sees me as an intelligent producer and hopefully, an intelligent actor and not just John Abraham, the body (Laughs). That’s a relief; I can go easy on my workouts now.

Talking about physicality, the image of you coming out of the ocean in only a pair of trunks in Dostana is imprinted on the audience’s mind even after a decade...
If I had to give anybody credit for that film, it would be Karan Johar. He handled the subject with so much care and sensitivity. I went to hear it with absolutely no expectations and was laughing throughout the narration. By the end of it, I told myself, “This is really funny, it would be fantastic to do it.” Recently, on Abhishek’s (Bachchan) birthday, I posted a picture of us pouting. It was brave of him to give me a kiss.

And it was brave of you to reveal a lot more for the camera…
When I look back on my introduction scene, I think, “Ufff, how was I so brave to pull down my trunks!” But it was a light, breezy film. It wasn’t vulgar; we got away with it.

John Abraham books August 14, 2020 as a release date, promises to raise the bar with every film he produces, explains the need to do the occasional comedy
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 18, 2019)

After films like Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran and Batla House, one had expected to see more of the serious, intense John Abraham. So, the upcoming laugh riot, Pagalpanti, is a surprise. What’s the plan as an actor and producer?
As an actor, I needed a break from intense roles. So, being a fan of Anees Bazmee’s brand of cinema, which I enjoy as a viewer, I accepted Pagalpanti after hearing just one line of the story and laughing all through the narration. As a producer, I have three films lined up—Gorkha, which will be directed Nikkhil Advani, Ray helmed by Abhishek Sharma who’s made Parmanu and Rensil D’Silva’s next. Hopefully, they will raise the bar set by Vicky Donor, Madras Cafe, Parmanu and Batla House, which gained acceptance from both, the media and the audience. Ray, for instance, is a genre you have never seen on the Indian screen. A love story, and yet drastically different. As a producer, I want to go into areas no one has explored. (Smiles) I believe higher the risk, the greater the profit.

Are we referring to the Gorkha regiment here?
Yes, Nikkhil and I are jointly co-producing this film. He will be directing me in it.

During Batla House, you had announced that you will have an Independence Day release in 2020 as well. Will that be Gorkha?
No, it’s Attack, which rolls on January 4 and opens on August 14. I’ve come to believe that the day belongs to me, not just because it’s a national holiday but also for the feelings it brings forth. Attack is an apt Independence Day release, patriotic without being jingoistic. It will be directed by Lakshya Anand, who assisted Kabir Khan on New York and Ek Tha Tiger, and Siddharth Anand on Bang Bang.

What happens to the period football film, 1911, which you and Nikkhil were to kick off early next year?
We are still developing that script, but the film will happen for sure. I believe football is the new cricket in India.

Rensil D’Silva’s movie is about motorcycle racing…
It’s also about family and love. A beautiful emotional story which, if I had to pick an analogy, would be an Indianised Rush. We have been developing the script for two years, it goes on the floors in early 2020.

While on the subject of Hollywood films, I believe you have been approached for desi adaptations of The Departed and The Transporter too?
Not The Departed, but the makers who have the rights to The Transporter have approached me. It’s not a literal translation but in an interesting space.

A couple of years ago, one believed that the action genre was dead. But films like Satyameva Jayate, Baaghi 2 and recently War have resurrected the genre. Action is back with a vengeance.
Yes, action is alive and that’s one more reason I’m so excited about Attack. I enjoy that space and I truly believe that the two actors who do action differently are Tiger (Shroff) and me. He is more technical while I am more real, breaking down doors and walls. There is a huge vaccum in his age group and mine that we fill.

And so Mumbai Saga?
Mumbai Saga, I believe, is Sanjay Gupta’s best work in light years. We have done Zinda and Shoootout At Wadala earlier, he is one of the few directors who handles me well. We have completed around 60-65 per cent of the film and we have created a very different language for this kind of gangster drama. Emraan Hashmi is fantastic!

Given how confident you are of action, where did you go wrong with the spy thriller Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW)?
I still believe it’s one of my best films. And Robbie (Grewal) is a gifted director and a fantastic human being with whom I am doing two more projects. The problem with RAW was the screenplay, which, I think in retrospect, was a little slow before the interval. The pace picked up in the second half but by then, the audience, which is looking for instant gratification, had disconnected. Had I made the film today, I’d have made it more fastpaced, added a few more action scenes. But those who saw it on the digital platform loved the film.

That’s because the digital audience is different from the one that goes to theatre, something many of our makers have yet to understand. That audience is more attuned to international content, which is edgy, out-of-the-box and about stories.
I agree. We are still creating projects and selling them when the days of proposals are over. That’s why I’m spending a couple of years developing a screenplay, even when people tell me I don’t need to ponder so long and so hard. Eventually content sells. That’s why I am attempting a film like Ray which no one can even imagine. I’ve seen enough failure to not be afraid anymore.

Your Vicky Donor, Ayushmann Khurrana, has gambled his career on ‘different’ films and today, after seven years, he is reaping the benefits of his ‘brave’ choices.
Ayushmann is a good boy and no one can be happier or prouder for him than me. He’s chosen well and today, when a ‘different’ film comes to a producer, they automatically gravitate towards him. More power to him.

Satyameva Jayate worked last year because it was a novelty in that it brought back ’80s-style action and herogiri. But will it work a second time?
I promise you that the sequel will not be anything like what we belted out in Satyameva Jayate. It deals with relevant issues of today and will strike a chord with not just the masses, but the classes as well. You can’t go down the ‘80s road again, it is important to move with the times. The only time I let myself loose is with Anees Bazmee, whom I trust as a director and a writer. There is no vulgarity or doublemeaning dialogue in his films; his world is inhibited by harmless, innocent beings and even the bad guy is cute.

So, there is an audience for such comedies?
Yes, the genre has a wider acceptance if released at the right time. Personally, I enjoyed doing Housefull 2 with Akshay (Kumar) and Sajid (Nadiadwala), and Pagalpanti was a blast too. There is an audience for all genres if you provide quality cinema.

Your character in Pagalpanti, Raj Kishore, is supposed to be the harbinger of bad luck. When was the last time you encountered bad luck on a personal level?
I equate bad luck with bad intentions and bad energy. That’s why I only work with good people. Period.