Disappointed: ‘Censor boards in India, Pakistan very myopic’

John Abraham on biased authorities on both sides of the border.

NEW DELHI: Actor John Abraham — whose latest release Dishoom might not release in Pakistan as the censor board has failed to reach a unanimous decision, said he is neither disappointed nor surprised with the news.

When asked for his opinion on the fate of Dishoom in Pakistan, John said, “Well, I think censorship generally, across the board, in both countries, has been very myopic and consistently myopic. So, I am not disappointed but I am also not surprised.”

The actor — who plays a police officer in the film — further added that Dishoom does not possess content that may offend nationals of any country. It is all about entertainment. “If you give the film an opportunity, if you see the film, you realise that it’s not a biased or anti-country film. It’s an entertaining film and it is meant for entertainment, but like I said, if you are myopic in your views, this is what happens.”

Dishoom, which released on Friday, minted INR 370 million during its opening weekend.

John is happy with the response his project received in the country and remains grateful to his fans. “The rains have been incessant,” he said. “I sat with Sajid Nadiadwala (producer) and the team in the studio and we spoke recently. We realised that we lost business of INR 40 million over three days, but considering the fact that we’ve lost that business, we have still got a fantastic response in India and overseas.” John added that he always wanted Dishoom to work, especially for its director Rohit Dhawan.

The Dhoom star is now gearing up for his next film Force 2, in which he will be seen alongside actor Sonakshi Sinha.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2016.

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