WATCH | EXCLUSIVE Interview of John Abraham on The Diplomat: ‘I have no religious or political inclination, the country just needs jobs’

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost’s Lachmi Deb Roy, John Abraham says that he feels confident being an Indian. The only thing he wants is job for the youths of our nation. He says, “Give our youths jobs and they will not waste their time on anything.”

Directed by Shivam Nair, The Diplomat featuring John Abraham as JP Singh and Sadia Khateeb as Uzma Ahmed is an engaging real-life story which will give you shivers down your spine. John plays the role of diplomat JP Singh, a man of few words but strong-headed and knows his job like the back of his hand.

WATCH the full interview with John Abraham here:

Edited excerpts from the interview:

 How do you see India on the global map now?

I think we are far more confident now. We look like we are self-sustaining as a country. When Trump makes his announcements about Canada, China, Mexico, as an Indian we feel safe because we know it’s not going to come down to us. We have got a strong government at least there is continuity. I am apolitical, let me just put it on record I have no political inclinations nor do I have any religious inclinations. Just put a job on the table and that is most important for me. This country needs jobs. Give the youths jobs and they will not waste their time on anything. We have got our flaws and it’s important for us to voice them, rather than beat our chest. But we are going good.

 With no hero or heroine and all characters playing an important role, what attracted you to The Diplomat ?

I think you have said it perfectly right, there weren’t any heroes in the film. And we were all characters. I think that is the beauty of this film. The script of The Diplomat enamoured me and I fell in love with it.  Each and every character in this film has an arc. It’s a laborious process and what came out was beautiful at the end. I think the film deserves to be one of the nominees for the National award. I feel India should make more films like this.

There is always a back story going on in his head. He breaks out into a smile. The character of JP Singh that I played was a very complex character, though it looks very simple, but it’s very nuanced.

 This role is very different from your previous roles so was it a challenge?

 Very honestly, I loved the script. I didn’t think about the repercussions of how commercial or non-commercial. The second challenge which I really didn’t think about was John Abraham…you become a prisoner of your own image. People think since it’s my film, he is going to fight, beat people and throw people. We did none of them. There wasn’t a single scene where we went over the top.

We kept it within a certain range. To stay in that range was the credibility of the character including the court scene at the end of the film. I could have easily screamed and got over the top with that. But we didn’t do that because JP is a controlled character, he is simple, sharp and a man of few words. I think by the end of the completion of the film, I realised that I took up a challenge.

There is a quantum leap in what I have done for this film. The audience has seen me in a certain light. But this is my career best and I will give all credit to my director for that. Like the way Stephan Spilberg says that an actor is as good or bad as the director.

There is a lot of responsibility when you do a movie like _The Diploma_t because it is based on a real story…

There is a lot of responsibility, but the question is do you want to take the responsibility or you don’t want to. I wish to shoulder that responsibility. Unless you want that number, but my movies in the past have made a difference to my filmography. But someone has to make a difference.

So, what next and how will you choose your movies from now onwards… considering The Diplomat was very different from your previous movies…

 I am doing Tehran and I am very excited about it. I learnt Hebrew because the film involves Iran and Israel. Again the idea was not to make a geopolitical film, but it’s a thriller