John Abraham on playing a real-life cop in Batla House: It's not Nikkhil Advani or my version of the story, but facts

John Abraham is all set for his next movie, Batla House , based on a  real-life incident about the Delhi spot  where a shootout took place in 2008. John plays police officer Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, who led the operation, in the cop drama. Ahead of the trailer launch on 10 June, the makers of Batla House have unveiled a new poster from the film. Check it out

When the nation you serve doubts your decision, you start questioning yourself. Watch the truth of #BatlaHouse reveal soon. #BatlaHouseTrailerOn10thJuly@mrunal0801 @ravikishann @nikkhiladvani @writish @TSeries @EmmayEntertain @johnabrahament @bakemycakefilms pic.twitter.com/YRZMXVICI4

— John Abraham (@TheJohnAbraham) July 9, 2019

Speaking about playing a real-life character John says, “The responsibility is even bigger as this is the first time I am playing someone who is still serving. If he (Sanjeev Kumar) thinks I am not good enough, he can even shoot me. So, I better be good at portraying him in the film.” To get into the skin of the character, John spent a lot of time with Sanjeev. He shares, “I spent a lot of time with Sanjeev and his wife Shobhna to understand his mindset, body language, the way he sits, stands, talks, reacts to situations and what he went through. I had a million questions for him.” The actor adds that even though he was tempted to take creative liberties, he refrained from doing so, in order to remain true to the character. “(While) it was interesting playing him, but it was also difficult (at times) because it is a strong and conflicting character. A lot has happened in his life post the Batla House incident. So to present that on screen, was difficult.” “So, this is not Nikkhil (Advani, director) or my version of a story that we want people to believe in, but this is what we believe in, factually,” asserts the actor. John further says that his film is neither pro or anti any community or political establishment. “I am aware that there will be conflicting views even if you stick to facts as closely as possible. However, the idea is to build a conversation and I hope we have done that with this film. One way of looking at it is to show different perspectives to the story and the other is to make the audience think and give them a reason for a constructive argument,” he adds. Batla House is the second collaboration of Nikkhil and John after Salaam-E-Ishq. The film also stars Mrunal Thakur, Prakash Raj and Ravi Kishan in pivotal roles. It is slated to release on 15 August, clashing with Akhay Kumar’s  Mission Mangal  and Shradhha Kapoor’s  _Saaho_ .