JOHN ABRAHAM: THE NEED FOR SPEED

 

By Fuad Omar.

It’s around 5pm and I’m in West Andheri, Mumbai trying to figure out some directions I’ve written down on a scrap of paper. I walk outside a shopping mall and take a right only to find myself in what is the smelliest place I’ve ever been to. I ask a local for help who laughs saying it seems I’m following my own directions upside down. I go back to the shopping mall and already I’m running late. My mobile rings and the friendly voice says “Fuad! Where are you?”. Er, I’m kinda lost I tell the voice and he advises me which direction I should be moving in.  It’s 5:15 and I was supposed to meet John Abraham, supermodel and soon-to-be-actor at five, and he seems to find my loss of orientation hilarious. He directs me through turns and landmarks on the phone as I relay the message to the rickshaw driver, before the driver himself gets fed up and takes the phone to ask where I want to go. Five minutes later I am outside John Abraham’s building and waving goodbye to the irate driver who is glad to see the back of me. I spot Navin Shetty, a friend and associate of Sunil Shetty’s and we catch up while walking towards John’s place. He meets us half way and sporting a tee shirt, blue denims and a stubble he greets us warmly. “You finally made it!” he says highlighting my inability to follow directions. After a brief chat with Navin, he grabs me and says “Come on we have to go, I have a really important meeting”. He signals to a rickshaw driver and we get in. Realising we’re running late and he needs to be somewhere soon and my next meeting is at 6:30 we decide to begin the interview on the way. As we speed down the streets with each corner making me jump half on the road, we begin our conversation. Those who know who John is will know he’s fairer than the average Indian. He informs me of his background and how he’s a mixed hybrid that represents the best of both worlds. “I was born and brought up in Bombay. My father’s a South Indian and my mother’s Iranian, so I’m a total mixed breed,” he says smiling. The young dude who I now realise I have no idea where he’s taking me tells me how modelling happened in between giving directions to the driver. “I did my MBA specialising in Marketing, and worked with an agency as a media consultant. Some of my school friends who saw I was working out so hard told me ‘why don’t you get into modelling? Give it a shot, just for the sake of it’. I thought why not and so did a competition called Gladrags in March 1999, and by the grace of God I won!” At this point the journey takes a Lord of the Rings style acceleration and a pothole in the road means my head goes crashing into the roof of the 3-wheeled wonder and for a minute I’m dazed. John hasn’t even noticed and is having the time of his life. His story continues: “I went for the International Manhunt in the Philippines where the winner of each country competes against each other and so it was pretty big. I came second in the world for that one which was great and that led to things happening. I got signed up with a modelling agency in Singapore and did some modelling there and in Hong Kong and back in India too, which really took off for me. So I decided to pursue modelling here in India in August 1999, and by August 2001 I was shooting for my first movie, so effectively I was a model for just two years."

We enter a quiet side road and the relief on my face shows. I may be asking the questions but no way am I focussed and John too, seems preoccupied in figuring out the best route to wherever we’re going. After advising the driver some more, we continue and talk about the second stage of his career which is about to take off: his entry into Bollywood.

“I’m doing a movie with Rahul Rawail whose made great films such as Love Story, Betaab and Arjun Pandit. And it’s a good launch pad because he launched Sunny Deol and Kumar Gaurav as well as Aishwarya Rai and Kajol. After that I’m doing a movie with Vikram Bhatt which has Bipasha Basu opposite me and also has Mr Bachchan in it, so I’m extremely fortunate to be working with him at such an early stage of my career. Besides that I have got a lot of international offers but let’s see how things work out there.”

International waters beckon and John is ready to dive in. He had a blast shooting in Leicester last year and can’t wait to return to foreign soil. What does he like most? The fact that no one can figure out where exactly he’s from.

“I just went recently to Vancouver and of all the people I spoke to, ninety-nine percent of them thought I was Italian. One said I was Indian, another said Middle Eastern but mostly people thought I was Italian and they liked the mixed look I had. So modelling internationally is something that is high on my agenda and is a priority. It’s just a matter of dates and timing, but given the option I’d love to model abroad.”

We arrive at our destination wherever it is, and start walking. I ask what he wanted to be when he was younger and his answer reveals why the rickshaw adventure we’ve just endured was so thrilling for him. He wanted to pretty much be Indiana Jones.
“When I was a kid I wanted to be an archaeologist until around the seventh standard. I was really intrigued by the pyramids and mummies and dinosaurs, I collected lots of books about the wonders of the world and all, but it all changed one day when I decided I wanted to be a soccer player! I captained my school, college and Management Institute and even Bombay in soccer and still follow the sport, especially the English Premier league…I’m a Man U fan!” he says laughing.

We take a turning into what seems like a block of flats but round the back enter an area that seems like a garage. He smiles at the workers and they are glad to see him, requesting before he leaves to allow them to take a photo with him to which he replies, “You guys are the stars, mujhe aapke saath photo keechna chahiye!” We head back towards the front and continue.

“I love English football because it’s very fast-paced and you see a lot of goals which is not something you get in other leagues. That’s what I wanted to be at that point in time, it was either soccer or biking that I was into. There was also a time I wanted to get into the 500cc championships so I had a lot of things I wanted to do!”

With so many pursuits on the agenda, does he ever get time to make any of them happen?

“Yes of course! Through my films I get the chance to and I also got the chance to meet lots of people and travel a lot and learn so much too. In the US I discovered a school that teaches you so many things like sky diving and more biking so that’s something I want to do.”

The boys are in a crowd moving towards us, seemingly concealing something between them. John doesn’t notice and starts telling me about his forthcoming films.

“Both my movies are action oriented. One’s typically a similar film to Betaab, and ..oh man,” he says stopping mid-sentence, handing me the Dictaphone. We are at a garage and the workers have wheeled out his new bike which he’s just had imported and done up. His reaction to this speed demon is priceless and his eyes light up like a child in a toy store.

“There’s my bike…” he says lost in awe, “isn’t she beautiful?”

Not being one too familiar with the motorbike scene I comment she looks great and seems to have a lot of power, and he smiles as he straddles his new machine. 

“Wanna hear her purr?” he asks as he starts revving up the engine and telling me we have to go for a ride. A few minutes later he’s off cloud nine and realises we’d better finish the interview so he can enjoy his bike further. When is he coming back to the UK I ask the man still eyeing the object of his affection.

“I’m in love with the England and Wales and I’d love to come back there and maybe the future will hold work for me there too.”

Since he’s in such a passionate mood I ask on the spur of the moment who he’d most like to have lunch with.

“If I could have lunch with anyone it would be Liz Hurley, I think she’s gorgeous. Actually she’d be good for lunch or dessert! And I love the accent!”

I realise time’s pressing on and both our attention is more focussed on his bike than anything else, so I wind up by asking him to briefly mention his movies and give a message.

“Well the first movie is a learning process but the second one’s a winner, which I’m very confident about. I’ve worked very hard and I hope people really like it.”

The second he stops the Dictaphone, he’s tossed it in my direction and hopped onto his bike. Inviting me for a spin - he assures me my decline is my loss and we fix up a time to catch up later. The same rickshaw driver who brought us here agrees to take me to my next destination but not before joining me and the workers in waving goodbye to John Abraham as he dons his shades and speeds off into the sunset. 

Be prepared, he’s heading in your direction…and fast.

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