John Abraham: Bollywood is not bad, it’s a decent place

Bollywood’s Man of Steel — John Abraham is that, both by his looks, and his mental strength. As someone who had no connections, and has made it till this point all on his own, there are quite a few lessons one can learn.

We ask the actor what’s been the biggest learning for him in a career spanning 17 years — how does he find Bollywood as a place, how are the people here? There’s also quite a lot being already said about it in the current times.

He says one is going to find good and bad people in any industry. “People who are accommodating, some who are not so accommodating. As a whole, the industry has been very gracious, and extremely good. Contrary to the way people are looking at our industry today, I think it’s a good place, it’s not that bad,” says Abraham.

Adding that there are bad things that happen everywhere, in every line of work, the Satyameva Jayate (2018) actor feels the only reason the film industry is talked about more, is because it’s always in the limelight. He says, “In our industry, it’s only more conspicuous, it’s out there in the open, and we get crucified a lot for it. Have I got opportunities from people who have been in the industry? Yes. Have I been the flag bearer for taking people from outside the industry (in films I produced)? Yes. I have been in both places, and there’s no thumb rule that someone is good or bad. It’s a very individual place. You can choose to create your own path.”

Abraham has been a producer too, backing films such as Vicky Donor and Madras Café, both critical and commercial hits. Calling Bollywood ‘a very democratic place’, he goes on to say, “It’s the only place where I feel we are agnostic to religion. Even if religion is being thrust today into our system, there are a lot of us who choose to be agnostic to religion. That’s great, and a good example for a lot of people. There’s a lot of negativity today in the industry, but I want to be that one person, and one of those few, however you want to look at it, who people look out to and say ‘hey, no, this place is decent, look at him. He’s survived, and standing here talking to us, he has nothing negative to say about anyone. He feels positive about everybody and himself, and his work. Why can’t we use him as an example? If John Abraham can, we can’.”

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