Vicky Donor Interview

You’re an established star of Indian cinema. Why did you decide to turn producer withVicky Donor? 

“This is my first picture as a producer. I knew I wanted to get into production at some point in time and after being an actor it was a natural progression to do that. The important thing was how I get into production and what my first film would be, because it’s such an important step. I really didn’t want to go wrong with my first home production. It had to be a real reflection of what I believe in and what I want from cinema personally. The way most actors do it is that they start their first productions which are centric around themselves and which are driven by them. What is typically called star power, where you drive the project yourself. I wanted to select a subject that I believed would be different, that would be edgy and would have my complete participation in it. 

“If you’re wondering where I came in and at what point of time in this film I have been involved inVicky Donor, it was from the first draft of the script, to the casting, to being involved with the actors, to working with the director on the shoot, the post-production and post-that, the marketing of the film, where I sat on the marketing strategy and media planning for the film.

“I am a fully fledged producer now and I enjoy that space. Somewhere down the line I like taking a back seat and secluding myself and there are some people who like being in the center of everything. Like I said, I like being on the sidelines, I like being a bystander. It sounds crazy.” 

What are the criteria upon which you choose your films? 

“The aim was to create cinema and a product that I believed would be a precedent to the kind of films that I would generate as a producer/actor in my own productions, because there are films that I would do outside that are really commercial, that are different, but where it’s my own space, I have purposefully tried to find films that are different, edgy like Water and Kabul Express, No Smoking, films in that space. 

“I still believe that No Smoking is one of my best performances. I believe that Water was a film that needed to be seen by Indian audiences, but unfortunately wasn’t seen. It was nominated for the Academy Awards, but we missed it. It ran just a single show in India. It’s really pathetic and sad. If I was a producer then I needed to get a platform where I could represent the kind of cinema that I really believe in on a commercial format, so make it really commercial, don’t talk about just social issues. Let people have fun with it, but at the same time make it edgy and gradually get that cinema out there where internationally people will say that Indian cinema has graduated to a certain platform. And that can only happen when you believe in creating content that’s (a) original, (b) different, and (c) has been treated very differently by directors. Contrary to the way we have been treating films in the past.” 

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John Abraham refuses to bulk up for films

After nine years in Bollywood, John Abraham’s ready for a change of image. He insists that Shootout In Wadala and the films that follow, including three of his home productions, I Me Aur Main, Jaffna and Kala Ghoda, will bring forth a more human John, rather than a larger-than-life superhero with a body to match. “As Soojit (director of Vicky Donor and Jaffna) pointed out, I no longer have to stand out in a crowd. I’ll be an everyman from now on,” promises the star producer.

While Jaffna is a political drama set in Sri Lanka, and has him pairing up with two female actors who’re yet to be cast, Kala Ghoda, directed by the late Basu Bhattacharya’s son Aditya, is a dark comedy written by Akshat Varma of Delhi Belly (2011) fame. Set in Mumbai’s underbelly, it revolves around two cops. John plays the volatile, no-nonsense Dilawar Khan. “He’s unlike any cop you’ve seen before in the way he speaks, dresses and his quirks. There’s a different edge to him, and I’m definitely not beefing up for the role as is being speculated,” he asserts.

Kunal Roy Kapoor plays the goofy and bumbling cop. “It’s an amazing author-backed role, you’re going to love him,” says John. The film will have action shot in real locations in real-time. John seems super excited: “Producing films like these not only help me expand my repertoire, but will give me credibility as an actor.”

Farah did speak to me ages ago…
“Farah (director Farah Khan) did speak to me about her next movie, Happy New Year, but that was ages ago. There’s been no talk since, so I’m a little lost about where rumours about me doing her film or Bodyguard director Siddique’s next are coming from,” says John. “I’d love to work with Farah as much as Shah Rukh (Khan), whom I’ve always looked up to, if the opportunity presented itself.”