Though he is not seen in any films at the moment, but John Abraham is still not out of the gossip groups. Now, the latest is that John is acting high handed. The poor soul, who is actually known for his down-to-earth behaviour can't figure out how these unfound rumours are created and distributed by anonymous people.
According our sources, which are close to the actor, "John finds it extremely unpleasant when his name is dragged in controversies for no good reason. The actor has always behaved in the most respectful way throughout and some section of the gossip club is accusing him of high handed behaviour and someone who throws a lot of tantrums without any reason. John simply expresses surprise when his name is associated with such acts. In fact he feels that the gossip mill is working overtime to malign him for no reason at all."

At the moment John is lying low since he is not having any immediate release at the moment. But, looks like the gossip columns won't spare him even if he chooses to stay obscure.

John Abraham has been out of news for some time now. But the hot hunk has found his way back to newspapers with his new found friendship with the gorgeous southern babe Asin. The two actors are working on Vipul Shah’s next film (un-titled) and seem to have become great friends.

And why not when they share the same passion for racing bikes? Interestingly, buzz is that John also invited Asin to his home. Not that we are hinting something but the ‘inviting home’ bit does makes our eyebrows arc up. But apparently, our mean machine freak John has a kind of mini museum at his home with frames of the world’s best racing bikes hanging on the walls; and therefore he has invited the lady to come home and have a dekkho.

Though rumours about fresh link ups aren’t common in tinsel ville, when it comes to our John we tend to believe it. What with his past history of getting all too friendly with his female co-stars. He has been linked to Vidya Balan during ‘Salam-E-Ishq’ which spelled trouble in his and Bipasha’s relationship. There were also reports of John’s ‘dostana’ with Katrina Kaif during ‘New York’ which got him in Salman Khan’s hate list.

If John Abraham hasn’t been seen in nearly a year, it’s also because he’s preparing for his maiden production venture.

The movie, to be helmed by his friend Sabal Shekhawat, reportedly revolves around five ex-commandos. And besides Abraham, it also features Naseeruddin Shah and Ranvir Shorey in important roles. The film is still untitled and should take off next year after the actor wraps up his current commitments.

Any other actor would have upped his ante and locked at least a couple of multi-crore deals after two back-to-back hits with big banners. But John Abraham opted to take a break after Dostana and New York. Quiz him on his surprising move and he retorts, “I want the audience to see my next film and say, ‘Hey, this was worth waiting for.’” Abraham admits that after wrapping up Abbas Tyrewala’s Love-1800 (that’s still a tentative title), he has been offered loads of scripts. “But I’m being choosy because I want to do only good films,” he asserts.

Raising the bar
He is presently shooting for Vishal Bharadwaj’s Saath Khoon Maaf with Priyanka Chopra in Coorg. In the city for a day to launch a deodorant for Garnier for Men, of which he’s the brand ambassador, Abraham says, “I think people should respect the fact that I’ve chosen to take a break at a time when I could have made hay. Unfortunately, a section of the media do not see the commitment behind this deliberate move.”

He points out that he has some interesting films lining up for release, starting with Abbas’s film in September for which he did a lot of workshops before they started shooting. Now, I’m taking a break for workshops for my next film. “Dostana was good, New York was better. Now I want to raise the bar with Abbas and Nishikant’s (Nishikant Kamath) films. I have a lot of faith in Abbas and am a fan of Nishikanth’s previous films like Dombivili Fast and Mumbai Meri Jaan. For me, his remake of Khaka Khaka is the Sarfarosh of today.”

Everything is planned
Abraham admits that Tyrewalla’s film wrapped up last year, but will only release around Eid this year. “I did ask Abbas if we weren’t going on the floors a little too earlier given that he had his release date planned, and he explained that he wanted to break it up and do the songs later since (AR) Rahman, who’s composing the background needed time,” he informs, reiterating that he’d rather wait than have a substandard film coming out in a hurry.

He says that this is the best phase for him professionally and he’s really excited. “The break was much-needed, it gave me the opportunity to retrospect,” he asserts, adding with a smile, “The next one will be longer. My advice to everyone is take a break every once in a while, it works.”

Hook Ya Crook ground to a halt after you injured your leg. And since then there has been no progress on it. Seems the endless wait is to rope in Team India cricketers along with your friend Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the climax.
We all know that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the sole authority when it comes to our cricketers. By the time my leg healed, the logistics had got out of hand and the producers were wondering if the project was still viable or to pull the plug out. I’ve committed to David that I’ll finish the film for him. But there are larger financial issues that need to be taken up by people in the macro set-up. Hook Ya Crook works for me and it would be unfortunate if the film was shelved. We’re waiting for the big guns to take a call.

By the time Abbas’ film releases, I’ll have started on Nishikant’s film for Vipul Shah. Then there’s Dostana 2, followed by Desi Boys with Akshay (Kumar). There’s also a fantastic sci-fi movie with Shirish Kunder and my own  production. Phew! Oh I forgot, there’s a slice-of-life real story movie with Kapil Sharma, son of Captain Rakesh Sharma.

Nagesh Kukunoor’s Aashaayein has been complete for over a year now. When will it see the light of the day?
(Sighs) We’re all wondering why such a wonderful movie is not releasing. It’s beyond our comprehension. The producers need to sort out their differences soon. I’m so proud of the film.

One expected to see you rooting for Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings at the IPL Season 3 grand finale.
I’ve been busy but I’m very happy for Mahi and he knows it. So what if I didn’t watch matches at the stadium.

Tell us some secrets from the Saat Khoon Maaf sets?
(Smiles) Vishal will kill me! He met me and asked me if I had seen Brad Pitt in the Cohen Brothers’ film, Burn After Reading. When I nodded, he told me that if I wanted to do a film just for kicks, then this was it. It’s a fun role that I agreed to immediately because I admire Vishal’s work immensely. It’s one of those films I’d do without thinking because I’m so confident of the director.

Buzz is that you refused to sport a moustache for Nishikant Kamat’s movie.
Nonsense, we’re still trying to figure out the look for this character. Nishikant is a perfectionist and it’s not about being glam but real.

No tweets for john: Why aren’t you on Twitter?
I’m not interested in letting the world know when I’m going to the loo. Certain things about John Abraham are best left for people’s imagination. Ha ha…

A Run Of Bad Luck!

1-800-Love – Pakhi Favoured!
When John attended the special screeing of 1-800-Love, he was in for a shock as the film turned out to be a paean by director Abbas Tyrewala (Jaane Tu...) to his actress wife Pakhi (Punarnava Mehta). According to rumours, the actor has since refused to do the publicity rounds for the film, as he feels that he was hardly there in the movie. Apparently, others at the screening felt that John’s anger is justified given that the film is like a Pakhi show-reel!

But the greater blow to John is the fact that the film’s release may be delayed due to financial issues. The producer Madhu Mantena, however, refutes this, saying, “The film was shot in London during summer last year. The story needs a summer set-up. We will be shooting in London again in May-June.” Hmmm... a Hindi film being shot in London across two summers – no wonder they are having financial problems!

Aashayein Shelved
John had a lot of hopes for Nagesh Kukunoor’s Aashayein as this film showcased his talents as an actor. And though the film had its audio release in May 2008, its release has been delayed for over two years. The film’s producers (Percept) say it’ll have a July release. Don’t hold your breath though!

Hook Ya Crook Canned?
David Dhawan’s Hook Ya Crook, starring John, Genelia D’Souza and Amrita Rao, was supposed to have hit the theatres by now but is still lying in the cans – the reasons floating around vary from budgetary issues to unavailability of the dates of leading cricketers who have a cameo in the film.

Lady Luck Smiles Again?

Dostana 2
Now here is the one film that will undo all the negativity of the last one year. Dostana 2 is supposed to go on the floors in July and there are stories floating around already about how K-Jo has asked John to get even more buffed up! (Is that possible?) And this time round the boys will have Katrina Kaif for company. We are giving them time till August before the rumours of the on-sceen sizzling chemistry and an affair start floating around. Affair between Abhi and John of course! What were you thinking!?

Kaakha Kaakha re-make
This film is like a hit formula being served on a platter to John. Tamil director Gautham Menon’s 2003 hit Kaakha Kaakha is all set to be re-made in Hindi by none other than Nishikant Kamat of Mumbai Meri Jaan fame! Whoa! Reports are that the action scenes are going to be bigger and better. PHWOOAR! John’s co-star will be Asin. Nice!

Saat Khoon Maaf
Now it does not get better than this! John plays one of Priyanka Chopra’s husbands in Saat Khoon Maaf, being directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. How cool is that? Working with Vishal has done wonders to the careers of actors like Saif and Shahid.

John’s Rebuttal
“Why make me the face of all the problems faced by my films? I can only say with complete certainty that no film of mine will ever get delayed, because of me, or shelved if I can help it.”

John’s Take
“It’s not about the number of assignments, but the quality of work I do. If I may say so myself, the audience that comes to watch my films has a certain expectation especially after the two back-to-back successes (Dostana and New York) that I had.”