Reinvented and reinvigorated, John Abraham on the most gratifying film of his career, Batla House, and surviving, despite rejecting Bollywood camps
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; August 25, 2019)

The first thing John Abraham notices are my colourful sneakers. Over the years, we've bonded on our collective love for shoes, as much as movies. There's something to admire about Abraham's repertoire, an example of how a gorgeous hunk of a man, most talked about for his looks has managed to evolve himself into a credible actor. "For the longest time in my career, I was called wooden," he admits but that never deterred him from exploring new ground till he found his beat. As his recent outing, Batla House, opened to steady numbers and much critical acclaim, John and I settle for a chat in his office about his newfound affinity for the patriotic brand of cinema, his trysts with the effort to be taken seriously and the way forward for his production house.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

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 Shobhna 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.

Do you feel the big battle you've always had to fight — that of being taken seriously as an actor - has been won?
For the longest time in my career, I was called furniture or people would comment that models cannot act while talking about me, but those people have now either left the industry or are on the fringes. I always had to prove myself at every point. There is a new set of audience and media that have come in, which is the generation I am catering to. The content and my performance are being appreciated. The idea is to take criticism constructively and improve. I am confident about the content I am creating. But I won't disagree that I've never seen such a large wave of appreciation from the audience and the critics unanimously for a film, in my career.

Has the approach within the industry altered?
People who I have worked with have always stood by me. They never had any doubts [thinks hard]. Actually, there are several who woke up from their graves and called me after watching Batla House to say, 'This is a new actor we are watching. You have new energy'. These are the same people who rejected me at some point. But I take my work seriously and don't pay attention to those who have suddenly changed their approach. I don't have any 'aspirational' list of directors. I'd rather work with someone who has the guts and heart to work with me, my production house and become the kind of person they want to.

You've often mentioned that the content from your production house is non formulaic. What is the process of selecting projects?
I choose scripts with my gut. I decide what films I'd like to produce, and then we ponder on the casting. There are many films where I am the third option [as an actor]. I am clear about what I want to do because I am not scared of failure. For, a person who has had no godfather, and faced endless criticism, has been written-off and still managed to hang around, has only himself to thank. I follow the management rule—higher the risk, higher the return. And these are calculative risks where I ensure everyone makes money. I believe in the Monday of the film. Your film is only good if it lasts two or three weeks. That's what, we as actors, producers and directors shy away from [risk] because we are scared to accept failures.

Is there then a sense of vindication with the success you have garnered in the last three years?
There would be if I gave importance to others. I don't pay heed to detractors. When the chips were down, the only person who convinced me was myself. I don't know how to follow people or belong to a camp. Hence, I do my kind of films and create my own content. I am not saying it is going to be the best, but at least it is something I will enjoy doing, and the audience will enjoy watching.

Won't people then consider you selfish?
People who know me are aware that I need to be left alone. Karan [Johar] is one of my closest friends. I don't go to his parties but we are still friends. I like being by myself, attending to my motorcycles, cars or simply reading. Does that mean that it will be difficult for me to approach an actor for my home production? Not at all. I get along with everyone but it has to be a personal interaction. I can't be part of the crowd.

You have six films lined up. Do you ever feel exhausted?
I am on auto-pilot mode. My team keeps telling me that I will burn out one day, but I fear that it will happen if I am not working. I am not mindlessly doing multiple films. I am content with each script. Rensil D'Silva's film on biking and Attack [directed by debutant Lakshya Raj Anand] has been in development for almost two years. Both are well thought-out projects. These films are being produced by JA Entertainment. I never followed trends because they change every minute. So, as far as I am concerned, the idea is not to be opportunistic with a certain trend, but to do what you believe in.

Patriotic Overdose
John Abraham's last three films Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran (2018), Satyameva Jayate (2018) and Romeo Akbar Walter have centred around patriotism. But he claims he would voluntarily do another one. "It is all about what you project. I'm secular and would like to make films that reflect the true nature of this country. If tomorrow there's [another] great patriotic film, I would love to do it. But I would not opt for jingoistic films. I am not anti any other country, I am not anti any other religion."

Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; August 14, 2019)

When Nikkhil Advani came on board as the director of Batla House, he barely knew about the controversial encounter that shook the Delhi Police in 2008. However, it was his urge to tell the story that kept the writer-director-producer intrigued and invested in the subject. In a chat with Bombay Times, Nikkhil talks about what went into the making of Batla House, what the experience has taught him, and how he has tried to present an unbiased narrative. Excerpts…

Your last directorial venture was Guddu Engineer (2016). While you have written films like Baazaar (2018) and produced films like Lucknow Central (2017) and Satyameva Jayate (2018) after that, you stayed away from direction. What’s it about this subject that made you want to direct the film?
I am not a producer who has become a director; I am a director who turned producer, so that I could tell the stories that I wanted to. I am not a producer, who wants to make Rs 200 or 300 crore from my films, I don’t choose a script thinking about its box-office performance. If I knew how to do it, I wouldn’t be making a film like Batla House. With this movie, John Abraham, Ritesh Shah (writer) and I hope to trigger conversations and make people aware of this incident. The (glossy) films I made earlier also had a dose of reality in them, but today, it’s all about content-based cinema. And, that’s the kind of cinema I would like to associate with.

The fact that we hadn’t yet documented an incident (Batla House) of such magnitude, drew me to it. Still, it took me four years; we made 30-40 drafts, and I felt that the story was missing something until we hit upon the final draft. Around a couple of years ago, I suggested to Ritesh that we swap the beginning and end. We got flash cards, wrote a line for every scene and laid them down on the floor of the office. And then, we rearranged them. That’s how we threaded the story together. Besides the encounter, the personal journey of Sanjeev Kumar Yadav (the real-life police officer, who inspired John Abraham’s character) and his wife Shobhna, caught my interest. I told Sanjeev Kumar that I wanted to know everything that happened in his personal life. The aftermath of the incident made him wonder if he was actually guilty, as assumed by the rest of the world. He even tried to commit suicide thrice. Come to think of it, he won three medals post that incident. When I met them in 2015, Shobhna told me that she had asked him for a divorce just a few hours before the encounter, but later, decided to be with him. Sanjeev had thought that he would emerge as a hero after the encounter. On the contrary, he drew a lot of flak.

Was DCP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav (then ACP) open to the idea of baring his life for a Bollywood film?
He isn’t open about such things; Shobhna is. I think that’s also because she shielded him and bore the brunt — she was subjected to nasty remarks, rants and accusatory glances, almost implying that her husband was a murderer. He believed so strongly in the system that he was sure it will exonerate him. However, the system kept playing games with him till he realised that he would have to fight it out. The incident changed him; he feels that he has become smarter. He wanted me to get the details right, so much so, he insisted that we use the same model of the car, which was used by him and his team. He told me, ‘Tum log Bollywood mein kuchh bhi karte ho. Aisa mat karo, because a lot is at stake for many people with this film’. He is very quiet and cautious. I have to give him credit for allowing me to present the other viewpoints.

While doing research on the film, you must have visited Batla House (the place where the encounter took place) and interacted with its current inhabitants. The incident must have left them scarred for life…
Yes, it has and will continue to, even after this film. We visited Batla House like any other naive film unit, taking photographs, while people stared at us in bewilderment. We realised that L-18 Batla House (the building where the alleged terrorists were holed up) is stuck in time. It’s unusually quiet, people hardly look you in the eye. My narrative is around Sanjeev Kumar, his wife, the special cell, the group of boys and what led them to court. I can assure you that the residents of Batla House will find the film biased, though I have shown both perspectives. The moment I cast John Abraham to play the police officer, I knew that everyone would assume that my perspective is in Delhi Police’s favour. That’s why for me, the most important casting in the film was of the defence lawyer. I wanted a strong artiste to convince the audience that I have not cheated them. Hence, I got Rajesh Sharma on board, he is ruthless in the court scenes. Though we have stuck to facts, I grappled with my own biases. The film is about perspectives — who is right and which side is to be believed, and how a particular perspective can change the entire narrative.

You have made several typical Bollywood commercial movies over the years, including Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Salaam-E-Ishq: A Tribute To Love (2007), Chandni Chowk To China (2009) and Katti Batti (2015). Some were commercial successes, some were critically acclaimed, while there were a few which didn’t leave a mark. However, with outings like D-Day (2013) and now Batla House, have you found the zone that you really want to be in?
I like stories that are a little politically motivated, thrilling and edge-of-the-seat. So, if this is my zone, I accept it whole-heartedly. Having said that, my association with glossy cinema is something I will cherish for life because it allowed me to make my first film. My friends Irrfan, Saurabh Shukla, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Anurag Kashyap and Manoj Bajpayee would often call me a sell-out (laughs!). Before Kal Ho Naa Ho, Shah Rukh Khan and I wanted to make a film on the lines of Dil Se, but we couldn’t get the right script and Yash (Johar) uncle told me that we should make a love story first. He said, ‘Uske baad tujhe jo karna hai kar’. On a serious note, a lot of hard work went into making Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), I was an associate director on both movies. Kal Ho Naa Ho also took a lot of hard work and all these are iconic Bollywood movies. As a generation of filmmakers, we brought organisation to our craft. We decided that we will no longer make a film over three years. We would work on one film at a time and expected the actors to be invested completely in it, unlike earlier when an actor shot two projects at a time. Big stars like Shah Rukh, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar accepted the change and are advocating it themselves. A lot of change, that nobody gives us credit for, was done behind the camera, too, like the way we approached production, scheduling and budgeting.

You spent almost four years to complete Batla House, including research and filming. That’s a lot of time to invest in a film. What has this experience taught you?
It has taught me patience. I feel that after D-Day, I should have waited for Batla House. I am not saying that Hero (2015) and Katti Batti are mistakes; they are missteps. I don’t think I gave enough to those films, because I didn’t believe in them as much as I should have. As filmmakers, our decisions are governed by several factors, like running the house, paying instalments, rent, school fees or going on holidays and that’s when we start compromising. The decision to make a film should only be governed by a good story. If you can take care of other factors, you are in a wonderful space. That’s what I aspire to do.

Mrunal Thakur on how Batla House offers her a meaty part, despite being an actioner at its core
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 12, 2019)

"Your first film decides how good or bad a performer you are," says Mrunal Thakur, who forayed into the movies with a de-glam role in Love Sonia (2018). She credits the Tabrez Noorani-directed venture for helping her land the big-ticket film, Batla House. "Nikkhil [Advani, director] saw the film at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2018 and loved my work. That's how I got this film. Commercial success is not the only sign of a good movie," she argues, hoping that the project — inspired by the 2008 Batla House encounter in Delhi — will "start an informed dialogue."

The two-film-old actor is unperturbed that both, Batla House and her last release Super 30, are driven by male protagonists. Asserting that the design of Hindi movies is rapidly changing, Thakur reasons, "I admire Pankaj Tripathi; no matter how many scenes he has, he will stand out. That is the mark of a great actor. It will take me some time to get a heroine-driven film. Priyanka Chopra took a while to get Fashion. Or Deepika [Padukone] to get Piku and Cocktail. At this point, when I am just starting off, every opportunity is a golden opportunity. To be able to work with seasoned actors like John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan is a big deal."

However, Thakur promptly adds that the narrative offers her a prominent character graph. She essays a journalist, modelled on Delhi Police Special Cell DSP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav's wife and journalist Shobhna Yadav. "I wouldn't have taken up the role if she was just a housewife. She is a crime journalist who needs to report the news where her husband is considered a murderer. The film offers a different take on journalism. When I met Shobhna Yadav ji, she said I remind her of herself."

Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; August 6, 2019)

John Abraham has come a long way from being the quintessential Bollywood hunk to becoming an actor-producer, who chooses meaty roles and backs meaningful films.

Ahead of the release of his next, Batla House, which is based on the controversial Batla House encounter that took place in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar in 2008, John tells us how he prepped to play a reallife police officer, and how he stuck to the facts to present all sides of the story. Excerpts...

You have played real-life characters in the past; for example, gangster Manya Surve in Shootout At Wadala (2013). However, you character Sanjay Kumar in Batla House is inspired by a real-life DCP (then ACP) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, who was involved in one of India’s most controversial encounters. What was the most challenging aspect of essaying this character?
I spent time with Sanjeev Kumar Yadav to understand him, his body language and how he gathered the information. It’s one thing to be a typical Hindi film hero — fire guns, do my own thing and be John Abraham on screen — and it’s another to play the character you are meant to play. I stuck to the latter. Sanjeev Kumar is shy and doesn’t speak much. During one of our meetings, his wife Shobhna told me, ‘My husband doesn’t speak for more than five minutes.’ We have used that line in the film. However, there’s a dichotomy in his character. You will suddenly see fire in his eyes when he talks about taking people down. It’s hard to believe that he can harm even an ant, but when he is out there, he’s a different person altogether. In that sense, he is similar to me. I break bones and lift motorcycles on screen, but in real life, I have never raised a finger on anyone or picked a fight. The only time I get angry is when I see anyone harming a child, animal or an elderly person. Otherwise, I am even-tempered to the extent that it gets difficult to shoot scenes in which I am required to scream. Over the years, I have trained myself to do that. I sit in a room and shout, just to get used to hearing myself scream, so that it becomes easier to shoot a scene. I get teary-eyed even while watching a mushy film in the theatre. I quickly look around to make sure that no one’s watching me (laughs!). It’s difficult to convince people about this side of me because of my strong and overbearing physicality.

As an actor, did you find playing a character, who doesn’t express or reveal his feelings, restricting...
Yes, it’s tough, but our aim is to portray their (Sanjeev Kumar Yadav and Shobhna), journey realistically on camera. Nikkhil (Advani, director) and I would often discuss how Sanjeev approached a particular situation. Our predicament was, should we stick to what he would do, or should we dramatise it because the audience might want it that way? Finally, we decided to stick to how Sanjeev would have reacted. Having said that, we have not made this film to please anyone. He has been gracious enough to lend his character to us, but that doesn’t mean that this film will just be about one character, who turns out to be a hero. In fact, it will bring to the fore various points of view and that’s the tightrope we had to walk. We had to present all perspectives, including that of the principal character, the students in the L-18 Batla House (where the encounter took place) and the witnesses, in our bid to be honest to the film. It wasn’t done to make it controversial and sell tickets. We have made a film based on facts existing in the public domain. The idea of any film is to trigger a conversation, which may not always be pleasant. After watching Batla House, everyone will have a point of view; it could be positive or skewed, depending on what they choose to believe. Coming back to Sanjeev Kumar, he was self-destructive, and we have shown that in the film. I told him, ‘Sir, we are making this film in a manner, which may not necessarily be in your favour. We will have an unbiased approach. So, do you have any reservations?’ He told me to just tell the truth. I also asked him if he has ever broken down over the years, after the incident happened. His reply left me startled. He said, ‘I wanted to kill myself ’. Not many know that with nine gallantry awards, he is one of the most decorated officers in our country.

No matter how hard-hitting and real a subject is, the audience has usual expectations — action and romance — from a Bollywood hero, at least to some extent. So, was there ever a point during the making of Batla House,when you were tempted to infuse a bit of John Abraham into the subtle and shy character that you are playing?
Fortunately for me, Sanjeev Kumar is an encounter specialist and thus, heroic in his own space. I am so used to running through doors and jumping off high places that there were times when I felt tempted to get the John Abraham in me out. But then, I had to take a step back and think whether Sanjeev Kumar would have done it that way. He has done many things, which are far more heroic than what I or any actor could do and which isn’t necessarily in the action space. That’s exactly what we have shown in the film — that strength doesn’t lie in action, but in the mind.

You have said that it took three years of research before the shoot of Batla House commenced.When you’ve read so much on a controversial incident, it’s easy to have a strong point of view. Did your perspective ever interfere with what you intended to portray on screen?
Nikkhil and I believed in making a film beyond our personal biases. As far as this story is concerned, we have diametrically different perspectives. However, we put all that aside to make a film that we believed would be honest. There is still a possibility that people might not agree with certain things shown in the film, and might feel that I am biased. But I am an atheist and so, I don’t have any bias based on religion. Also, we didn’t want to make a documentary, but a psychological action thriller. The bottomline is that we wanted to make a commercial film. We are here to entertain people and not give them gyaan, but at the same time, we want to make them think.

Your film has also been in the news for clashing with Akshay Kumar’s Mission Mangal. This is the second year in a row that you will clash with Akshay at the box office (last year, John’s Satyameva Jayate had clashed with Akshay’s Gold). When two stars clash at the box office, people often assume them to be at loggerheads. In this case, you guys are known to be friends...
If you notice the trajectory of any big actor, they have always released their films on a holiday. Why should I not do the same? Films always get more footfalls when they are released on special occasions like festivals, as families step out together. If there’s a bigger film opposite mine, so be it. Maybe, I will have the bigger film one day. I want to release Batla House because I have confidence in my content and I hope that the content of every other film releasing along with mine — now or later — is fantastic, too.

But don’t you agree that when two big films clash at the box office, viewership gets divided and business is affected?
It does, but the other person has to think about it, not me. It’s important for me to release my films on dates which I think are good for me. I released Satyameva Jayate on Independence Day last year, and it got a good opening. So, I will try to do it again, and why not? It’s not about ego. I have thought 20 steps ahead before releasing a film on a certain date. Unlike popular belief, my favourite sport is chess and not motorcycling or football. Playing that game has enabled me to think much ahead. I am obsessed with it and I even read books on it. I am not saying that I am the most intelligent guy. I am prone to mistakes, too. But for a guy who has failed more often than not, I am not worried about failures. At the most, I will fail again. I calculate the probability of both success and failure. I think everything through, right from the time I take up a project. I know if my film’s going to earn between Rs 40-60 crore, Rs 80-100 crore, or 100 crore plus. I might be okay with the Rs 40-60 crore bracket for a particular subject, but if I want to be in the Rs 100 crore-plus category, I will do something else. Am I prepared to earn less and tell a story that I want to tell? The answer is yes, because I want to do films that I want to do and tell stories that I want to tell.

You entered Bollywood as a beefy hunk, with people drooling over your physique. However, over the years, you have started picking intense, realistic roles and producing meaningful cinema. Do you think that people have accepted this transition?
That’s a choice people have to make, because I am making my choices in the kind of films I want to do. People, who are stuck in time, will say that John Abraham is only about the body. But I am sure that I am doing something right, which is why I am still in the reckoning. Dustin Hoffman once told Robert Redford, ‘Whatever you do, you’ll always wear an albatross around your neck.’ To a great extent, it will always be about the way I look. The image of John Abraham emerging out of the water in yellow trunks is imprinted on people’s minds forever. I would be foolish to expect that image to fade because there’s a large section of audience that admires me for my body and the way I look. It’s nice to look glamourous, since cinema is a visual medium. John Abraham will again step out of water, somewhere at some point, of course in a pair of different-coloured trunks (smiles). Everything doesn’t need to be cerebral, right?

Earlier in the interview, you mentioned that you are an atheist. Doesn’t faith make life easier at times? It’s not easy to accept that you have nothing to fall back on during tough times...
I would like to correct myself, I am more agnostic than atheist. I believe in the presence of a supreme being. It helps me in today’s world, which is extremely polarised. People are either pro or anti certain communities without any reason or justification. Fortunately, I don’t harbour such feelings and trust me, it’s a blessing. The only person I can fall back on is myself, and the only person who has pulled me through my career till date is me. I don’t have a godfather in the industry. So, I can pat myself on my back if I am successful and point a finger at myself when I fail. The only people I believe in and look up to are my parents. If there’s any miracle in this world, it’s motherhood and parenting. I look at things very objectively and I have no bias, because my parents haven’t indoctrinated me. When I was five years old, my father told me that I don’t need to go to a temple, church or mosque to be a good person; I just need to do good to be a good person. I took that advice very seriously, and I have not gone to any religious place since then. Having said that, there’s nothing wrong with being religious. I respect every religion and enjoy the festivities. In today’s world, where you see nothing but hatred and toxicity, I feel that I am in a great space.


The Times of India page 1, on the day after the Batla House encounter. In the film, John Abraham plays a character based on DCP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, who spearheaded the operation

Actress on why she chose to start her Hindi film innings with 40-plus actors
Hiren Kotwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 6, 2019)

Mrunal Thakur, best known as Bulbul from Kumkum Bhagya, made a successful transition to the big screen with an international production, Love Sonia, before signing up with Hrithik Roshan for math whiz Anand Kumar’s biopic, Super 30. This Independence Day, she teams up with John Abraham for Batla House. Excerpts from an interview:

Isn’t it a coincidence that your first Bollywood outing—Super 30 and Batla House — are drawn from real stories?
Well, I wasn’t working to a plan, I was filming Super 30 when I met Nikkhil Advani for another film. While that didn’t work out, he offered me Batla House. I had seen D-Day and I grabbed the opportunity. He’s the best director for such a subject. I’m happy he chose me.

Were you familiar with the 2008 encounter?
I knew it as one of the most controversial encounters but didn’t know the exact details. Before the narration, Nikkhil explained that it came in a way of a series of bomb blasts around Delhi. Two, including a cop, were killed and two arrested. One escaped and a constable was injured in the gunfight. Besides being the story of a cop (inspired by Sanjeev Kumar Yadav), it’s also the story of a journalist as his wife Shobhna was one. I followed her work while promoting Love Sonia and having studied mass media, I know how journos source a story, develop it into news and fight to get it out before a rival channel. I met her recently and she said she saw herself in me on screen.

I didn’t want to play just a wife who is singing, cooking and waiting for her husband to return home. Nandita is a working journalist and that made the part challenging. Nikkhil started with the fun-filled flashback scenes first because he thought it was important for John and me to connect and that helped ease us into the later scenes.

Both Hrithik and John are 40-plus actors...
Do they look 40? Both Hrithik and John are the hottest men in Bollywood today and I’m privileged to have begun my innings with them. They were like strong pillars, supporting me during my initial phase. I would love to pair up with different actors, but their age doesn’t really matter.

Why aren’t you signing more films?
I’m committed to a big show. I want people to watch Batla House and offer me roles.

And can we now hope to see you in a more glamorous avatar, doing a song-and-dance routine?
Yes, of course, I want that too. Romance is my genre but I also want to do comedy, drama and action. Let’s see what comes my way.

Love Sonia got you praise even from the UN. Are more such projects in the pipeline?
I’d love to do films like Love Sonia, which continues to be screened in various countries. Recently, it was shown in the Parliament at Uzbekistan where issues about gender equality and violation against women were raised. If an Indian film can make such an impact on an international platform, I’m happy and proud to be a part of such storytelling. Article 15 is another example. It’s great that Ayushmann Khurrana did it. Such films make people think, they see their matinee idol taking a stand and want to support the cause. I want to be a part of films that make a difference and start healthy conversations about import ant issues.

Love Sonia’s director Tabrez Noorani is influential in Hollywood. Any more collaborations with him?
Tabrez is my mentor and the only director who hasn’t signed me for a three-film deal. I really want to work with him again. We have spoken, there’s something in the pipeline. But such things take time, and I’m hoping and praying they work out.