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When John Abraham first hit his name on the headlines winning the ’99 Gladrags Manhunt Contest, not many thought him to be film material. But after 4 years of struggle, John made a splash with his debut ‘Jism’ where he featured alongside his real life love girlfriend Bipasha Basu. Since the time of his debut, John has remained a male sex symbol in Bollywood.
Though, his relationship with Bipasha has been going steady for almost 4 years now, rumours of him having an affair with his co-stars have made the rounds of tabloids more often than his performances. In a freewheeling exchange here, John clears the air about his status with his co-stars and also drops a lesson or two on making friends in Bollywood.
Pinning John Abraham for an interview is, well, trying to pin a moonbeam to the ground. Between walking the ramp for good friend cum designer Rocky S, doing the body mambo for Baabul and juggling ad campaigns, an interview is the last thing on his mind. But I prise him away from all the hullabaloo and coax him gently to talk on the women in his life—his heroines. After some gentle persuasion, John opened up. Not before adding, “I have nothing negative to say about any of my heroines. I’m not trying to do good PR, because none of that will help me at this stage of my career. Each of my heroines has contributed immensely to my career.ف Reproduced below are excerpts from a conversation.
Bipasha Basu
Perhaps the fact that she’s also seeing me off the sets makes her my most cooperative co-star. She is also perhaps the most professional and accommodating actor I’ve worked with. We also worked together in Aitbaar and Madhoshi. Bipasha’s performance in Madhoshi was outstanding, unfortunately all the hard work she put in the film went unnoticed because the film was a disaster.
Tara sharma
She looks docile and sweet but at the same time she is very witty. Her biggest advantage is that she is like clay, a director can mould her any way he wants. During Saaya she did everything an actress would have been asked to do. She needed the right start with the right person.
Udita Goswami
She looked very beautiful in Paap. She had a look that made her different. Her short hair and lean frame worked. She has got one of the most beautiful bone structures. Pooja (Bhatt) did her best to push Udita and that was the best training ground for her.
Lara Dutta
When we were shooting for Elaan we had nicknames for each other. She used to call me, ‘hey sidey,’ and I would call her, ‘hey item.’ Though we are a little formal with each other, at the same time we are pretty cool too. Lara is more like a male buddy. In Elaan we had a lot of bike riding shots but with her I was never worried. She is a Jat. She would keep telling me, ‘Don’t worry about me just get the shot right.’
Priyanka Chopra
She’s one of the most professional actors I’ve worked with. I’ve never heard her say, ‘NO!’ I don’t think the word exists in her dictionary. She says yes to everything. Tell her the shoot will be extended and she will be fine. Even if it means that she packs up at two in the morning and her next shift is at six in the morning.
