Almost two years have passed since the release of her debut big screen outing ROCKSTAR. Now that Nargis Fakhri is returning with John Abraham starrer MADRAS CAFE, one wonders how she looks back at the months gone by. Was it a period of anxiety, wait, euphoria, excitement or more?
'Two years? Wow, that's something; I never realised,' says Nargis in an animated tone, 'Well, the time just flew past by. After ROCKSTAR, it was all so overwhelming for me. I could never imagine or expect how my life could change so drastically. I spent quite some time contemplating whether I should really move to Mumbai for good.'
She did take the plunge though and while there was a waiting period involved before she signed her next, there were other activities related to the world of glamour that kept her occupied.
'I knew for sure that my life would change. I couldn't have been the same person as I was during ROCKSTAR. Meanwhile, I was engaged non-stop with script reading, advertisements, cover shoots, campaigns, shows and events. See, since I wasn't prepared as a person and as an actor, I had to educate myself. I took some Hindi classes as well. Everything that one can imagine, I prepared for. It was akin to going back to school.'
Meanwhile the very fact that she was being remembered and written about made her feel that she was doing something correct after all.
'Don't they say that any news is good news,' she laughs, 'If media was talking about me, it was fantastic. The fact that I was in there was a surprise for me too. Yes, some things written about me were untrue but then I can ignore that. Otherwise generally I took it all in a positive light. After all, if there are people out there who want to know more about it, it is good, isn't it?'
Well-known action director Allan Amin was the one to introduce Bollywood with the concept of stylized action and special effects. He all started with MISSION KASHMIR followed with QAYAMAT: CITY UNDER THREAT, DHOOM series, DUS, CHOCOLATE: DEEP DARK SECRETS and many more. However his upcoming action film "FORCE" starring John Abraham doesn't consist of the stylized action, which is in vogue.
Allan says FORCE is much different from his other films as the action here is much real, 'The action in FORCE is all real. We haven't made use of cables or any equipment or special effects for that matter. Moreover John has good caliber who did all the stunts by himself. What with lifting a bike or jumping off from a great height he did it all without the help of cables or airbags. And must say he performed it quite naturally.'
Certainly whatever Allan does he does it with much elan and elegance but what about the audiences who are used to watching stylized action these days and under such circumstances how FORCE action will appeal to the masses? To which he answers, "No it's completely stylized in its own way but without losing its originality. When you'll watch the film you'll come to know."
Ask him if it became a time consuming process to have real action and he says, "Though time consuming but it was fun shooting it naturally."
He may have designed best of the action sequences for the various films he did in his career but finds FORCE as his most challenging action film till date. "Yes FORCE has been the most challenging film in my career as it was all done without using any cables or any other aid," says Allan.
Allan further talks about the most difficult and the best action sequence in FORCE. "The most difficult was the one where John goes running behind several buses lined up and jumps from one bus to another as it was to be shot without the use of cables. While the best one was the bike sequence where John lifts the heavy bike and throws it. Actually I just asked John to lift it halfway but he decisively lifted the whole bike. Even the introduction scene of FORCE is one to watch out for."
Allan and John's bonding dates back to the time when John was about to make his mark in the industry. Says Allan, "I know John from long time. We have worked together for the films like KAAL, DHOOM, etc. We share a good rapport. There is a sort of good understanding and comfort level between us."
Ask him about the return of action genre or the genre gaining its lost glory and the prudent action master says, "It's just a phase of life where everything comes and goes back."
Allan becomes diplomatic when it comes to selecting his favourite action hero in Bollywood. "Everybody is good. I enjoy working with all of them," says Allan on a parting note.
John and Bipasha, the sexiest couple in Bollywood who had an unmatchable and impeccable chemistry, have sadly parted ways. And this time, It’s official..
Well, their remarkable 10-year-old relationship came to an end because of difference of opinions.
“They may still make an appearance together at an event but the fact is that they are no longer a couple,” says a source close to the couple. “The split was very much impending”, claims a close friend of theirs and adds, “Bipasha wanted marriage but John was not ready to be tied down. They were together for a decade, so the decision came naturally to Bipasha.”
The news became quite obvious because John and Bipasha no more made public appearances together.
Today bollywood star, JOHN ABRAHAM turns 38 who born on 17th December 1972.After modeling for numerous advertisements and companies, Abraham made his film debut with Jism (2003), which earned him a Filmfare Best Debut Award nomination. This was followed by his first commercial success, Dhoom (2004). He received two Filmfare Award nominations, for his negative roles in Dhoom, and then in Zinda (2006). He later appeared in the major critical success Water (2005). In 2007, he was nominated for a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Baabul (2006).
Abraham was born in Mumbai to a Malayali father and a Parsi mother. His father is an architect from Alwaye, Kerala; his mother is named Phiroza Irani. Abraham's Parsi name is "Farhan" while his father being a Syrian Christian (Syrian Malabar Nasrani) named him "John". He has a younger brother, Alan.
He studied economics at the Bombay Scottish School, Mahim in Mumbai and did his MBA from the Mumbai Educational Trust (MET).
MODELING:-
Abraham started his modelling career appearing in the music video of the song "Surma" by Punjabi singer Jazzy B. He then joined the media firm Time & Space Media Entertainment Promotions Ltd., which, however, closed because of financial problems. Later, he worked for Enterprises-Nexus as a media planner.
In 1999, he won the Gladrags Manhunt Contest and went to the Philippines for Manhunt International, where he won second place. Following this, he was signed by Carrie Models in Singapore and did some modelling there; he later modelled in Hong Kong, London and New York City. He also appeared in a number of commercial advertisements and in other music videos for singers including Pankaj Udhas, Hans Raj Hans and Babul Supriyo. To improve his acting skills, Abraham joined the Kishore Namit Kapoor acting laboratory and completed an acting course while juggling modelling assignments.
ACTING:-
Abraham made his acting debut with Jism (2003), a thriller film which, according to Box Office India, was "above average" grossing 13,25,00,000.During filming, Abraham and co-star Bipasha Basu started dating each other.
His next films included a paranormal thriller Saaya (2003), Pooja Bhatt's directorial debut Paap (2004) and Ahmed Khan's Lakeer – Forbidden Lines (2004).
He appeared, in a villainous role, as Kabir in Dhoom in 2004, an action film produced by Yash Raj Films. The film was one of the highest grossing films of that year.
In 2005 he starred in the supernatural thriller Kaal and the comedy Garam Masala both of which did well at the box office.Later that year, he had a major role in the critically acclaimed film Water, which portrayed the tragic fate of Hindu widows in British India of the 1930s. The film was written and directed by independent Canadian film-maker Deepa Mehta. It was popular internationally, and was nominated for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Academy Awards.
In the summer of 2006, Abraham performed at the "Rockstars Concert" along with fellow Bollywood actors Salman Khan, Zayed Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Esha Deol, Shahid Kapoor and Mallika Sherawat.In that same year, he starred in the films Zinda, Taxi No 9211, Baabul and Kabul Express.Among these Taxi No 9211 and Kabul Express were substantially successful.
Nikhil Advani's multi-starrer Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love was Abraham's first release in 2007. The movie failed to do well at the Indian box office,though it did well in the overseas markets.His last two 2007 releases included the arthouse thriller No Smoking and the sports film Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal.
In 2008, Abraham starred alongside Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra in Dostana, his only release that year. Produced by Karan Johar, the film performed well at the box office.
His first release of 2009 was another much awaited production by Yash Raj Films, New York. The film was a critical and commercial success. It followed the lives of three best friends after the September 11 attacks in New York City.
He has a fashion line— branded JA Clothes — which primarily features his favorite article of clothing, jeans.
PERSONAL LIFE:-
Abraham has been dating actress Bipasha Basu since 2002. The couple is often cited as a supercouple in India.
