John Abraham: The road less travelled

Bollywood actor John Abraham’s next film to be on LTTE in Sri Lanka.

MUMBAI:

Bollywood macho stud John Abraham is all set to appear in a political-thriller about the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka. Leaving behind his experimental phase of films — which included ventures like No Smoking and Kabul Express — Abraham has now agreed to work in a politically-charged film titled Jaffna.

The film, set in the troubled, strife-ridden city Jaffna, Sri Lanka, is directed by Shoojit Sircar, who recently wrapped up the shooting of Vicky Donor, which is Abraham’s first production venture. The film is a breezy satire on sperm donation and features Vijay Ayushmaan in the lead.

Meanwhile, apart from acting in Jaffna, Abraham will produce this film as well. “John is a politically aware actor. He reads the newspaper every morning, knows what’s going on in the world. He is clued in to the dynamics of the separatist strife in Sri Lanka. The minute I told him about my film Jaffna, he was on board,” said Sircar.

Expressing his reluctance to divulge much detail about his film, Sircar said, “It’s going to be a political-thriller set in the troubled city of Sri Lanka. John will be visiting Sri Lanka more often in the coming months to get a hang of the local population and the political situation in the country.”

Speaking about his own interest in the subject, Sircar said, “I am no stranger to themes of separatism and extremist violence. My first film Yahaan was about Kashmiri separatism. And now Jaffna would be carrying the theme of extremism to another level.”

Though not willing to divulge too many details on Abraham’s character, the director hinted that the actor would require a great deal of preparation for his part. “John believes in Jaffna, as much as he believes in Vicky Donor. That’s why he stepped in to produce both the projects,” said the director.

Abraham is reported to have gone all-out to generate awareness about sperm donation in the weeks preceding the release of Vicky Donor. “There were rumours that he did an item song, but that’s not true. Vicky Donor is a humorous take on sperm donation. John is doing a promotional video on why sperm donation is not something to be giggled about behind closed doors,” said Sircar.

(With additional information from OUR CORRESPONDENT FROM COLOMBO)

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2012.