Bollywood's John Abraham brings ‘Vicky Donor’ to Dubai

He steamed up the Bollywood scene in the racy, romantic thriller ‘Jism’, way back in 2003, and now, a decade later, he’s making a partial shift as a producer, documenting the notoriously stimulating escapades of a young sperm donor in his maiden rom-com ‘Vicky Donor’.

The super brawny John Abraham is hoping his “natural progression into film production” will turn an instant rage, just like his sensational debut.

And he’s banking on the risqué element, which won him instant gratification then, and hopefully, will now.

“Jism was a risk at that point in time, and I was an unknown face. And I’m just repeating history and this time, as a producer. I think Ayushmann (Khurrana) has taken my place in that respect. I did it in 2003, now he’s doing it in 2012,” John believed.

After strolling in, 45-minutes behind schedule, with his leading man Ayushmann in tow, John started by graciously apologising for his delay and then, lost no time in unveiling his “incredible film” to Dubai.

John played his part of the zealous producer to the T, even crediting himself as being smart and not brave, for selecting a great first film to present his production company with.

Organised by Xcellence and Essar events, the affair kicked-off by a presentation of, first, the movie trailer, and then, its two famous music tracks – one featuring John’s spunky item number ‘Rum & Whiskey’ and the other, a more mellow Punjabi ballad ‘Paani Da’, rendered (and composed) by Ayushmaan.

And being the benevolent producer, John even admitted, although a tad reluctantly, that he was willing to turn a sperm donor.

“Yes, I will. I see no harm, it’s like blood donation,” he beamed, before adding, “When we had announced “Vicky Donor”, there were a lot of fertility clinics that approached me to donate and then I thought it was ridiculous because at some point in time when you disclose the donor then I’d probably be the father of the nation!”

His star, however, had a little more experience playing donor in real life.

“In 2003, I was part of the (TV reality show) MTV Roadies, and I had donated my sperm as part of a task. So, I am an authentic sperm donor, but I never thought that in my Bollywood debut I’d play one.”

“But don’t ask me whether I auditioned him,” quipped John.

Ayushmann’s four-year wait for the right Bollywood project ended when Shoojit Sarcar zeroed in on him to play Vicky.

“Shoojit was very sure he wanted him. And I’ve been a big fan of his on MTV. He’s a spontaneous guy... so witty,” said John.

“So, he was a no-brainer in terms of casting, so was Annu Kapoor, but it took us the longest time to cast the female lead (which was finally bagged by Yami Gautam).”

Elaborating on his new role as producer, he stressed on how he was hands-on from the word go, but like all men who handle the cash, John too refused to divulge his movie budget.

“I can’t talk about how much I put in, but I can confidently say I’ve worked out my revenue model well. And when the first film ticket is sold, it’s going to be a plus.”

Now that production is one thing off his list, John’s planning to step into direction.

“I’m not ready to direct now. Probably 3-4 years down the line I will direct, and that will be my final goal.”

For now, he’s happy playing actor and producer, drawing plans to take Indian cinema to the global market.

“I want to break the stereotypical image that most Indian films have and if “Vicky Donor” is the bench mark, I think we are in for much bigger things.”

There was a lot of mutual admiration in play, with John calling Ayushmann a “super fantabulous performer” and the lead actor, returning the compliments with “He’s (John) more than a producer, he’s like a buddy. He’s constantly guiding me.”

Let’s hope the comradeship does effectively translate onscreen, and not merely for us, journalists.

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