My struggles are getting harder: John Abraham (IANS Interview)

Actor John Abraham, who started out as a model before venturing into the Hindi film industry in 2003 with "Jism" and now even produces movies, says his struggles in showbiz have become harder with time as he has become tougher on himself.

Every newcomer, especially those with no backing of a film family, faces hardships in the competitive industry. Was it the same for John when he forayed into filmdom?

"I still face struggle. Even today, after 'Dishoom', I struggle, but the struggle is of different kind. The struggles are getting harder today because I am getting tougher on myself. The struggle is about being fitter, stronger and faster," John told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

"The struggle is about finding better scripts... It's about reducing the probability of failure, so the struggle is of a different kind. I really did not find that (entry into filmdom) much of a struggle," added the 43-year-old, who, however, found being the best in the modelling industry a tough nut to crack.

"I had to prove that I can sustain in the modelling industry," said the star, who is gearing up for his next release "Force 2".

Once that struggle finished, he went on to act in movies like "New York", "Kabul Express", "Zinda", "Taxi No. 9211" and "Garam Masala", after which he became a producer with the National Award winning entertainer "Vicky Donor".

Then, he says his struggle shifted to how to up the "quotient of quality of films" that he was doing.

"The struggles keep going on in my life... The struggles are never going to end. I am always going to be a struggler," said the actor.

What has been tougher -- being a model, actor or producer?

"I think being a model was the easiest thing to do," he said and added: "As a model, I was 'John Abraham, the model'. I was a clothes hanger. You give me any clothes, my job was to make it look good."

For him, being an "actor is tough, but fun", and being a producer is the "most difficult".

"As an actor, I'm open to working with different producers. Someone I deeply respect and love is Aditya Chopra. Someone who is my really close friend and I really like working as a producer with is Karan Johar," added John, who finds it "daunting" to find scripts to produce under his banner John Abraham Entertainment.

"I think people like hard-core quality content-driven films, and I feel it is my production house that looks out for the best. I think it's very daunting to find the next best script that will entertain the audience," he added.

In his over-a-decade long career in Bollywood, the actor's filmography boasts of adrenaline rushing actioners, power-packed dramas and rib-tickling comedies.

Is there any other genre John would like to explore?

"I think the genre that I would like to attempt and re-attempt is in the space of "No Smoking". I love that space. A lot of people tell me that 'if you do 'No Smoking' today it would do fantastic business and I tell them that whether I do something 10 years too early or five years too early, that's the space I would like to re-explore."

(Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in)

--IANS

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