John Abraham: The ‘cage fight’ is my item song

John Abraham talks about being sexy and edgy, and the severe action sequences which broke his bones and made him cry in Race 2, that also stars Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, Jacqueline Fernandez, Anil Kapoor and Ameesha Patel.

You have performed Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in Race 2, something you have not done before...
When I was offered Race 2, it reminded me of Dhoom (2004) minus the bikes. I missed the bikes, but the mind-blowing action in Race 2 makes up for it. I had to practice MMA with stunt director Peter Hein. Two Vietnamese fighters — Son and Tun — coached me for two months to get my kicks, flexibility and agility right. When I started rehearsing, for the first few days, I had tears in my eyes as my body went through excruciating pain. I'd scream dao (it means pain in Viatnamese), but they pushed me. I almost lost faith in myself, but didn't give up.

What kept you going?
I want to set a certain benchmark for raw action in Bollywood. I believe in stunts that are real and believable. I've done a cage fight in the movie without cables. This is my item song for Race 2 ! I have fought with a 300-pound South African professional fighter, Andrew, in the film. He was a sweet, docile guy otherwise, but once he entered the ring, I had to fight to save my life. The reality of action is very evident when you see us bashing each other's guts out. You can tell it's not fake.

Given the intensity of the fight, the injuries must be severe...
My back was bleeding, I had a 14-inch gash. I cracked my shin bone and navicular bone in the ankle area. I had to take a two-week break from action. My orthopedic surgeon joked about putting me on a retainership in his hospital, given the number of times I visited him.

You work hard on your body...
I train and eat differently for every film. My body is like a machine. When you are muscled, achieving flexibility is not easy. I've still managed a split and 145-degree kicks in the film. Sylvester Stallone has been a great influence. He defies age.

From a sexy guy to an action hero, are you changing your territory?
I look at myself as a commodity. Cinema is a visual medium. I want to draw a balance between my sex appeal and the rawness of the stunts I perform. I like being edgy. Normal is boring. It's all about attitude; you either have it or you don't. I play an anti-hero in Race 2. Bad has never looked so good.

Race 2, produced by Tips Industries Ltd and UTV Motion Pictures, releases on January 25.

Genelia Shares Force Success with John Abraham

Bollywood movie Force has got grand opening at the Box Office and it has done well at the collection centres in the first week. Trade analysts feel that actor John Abraham's hard work is the reason behind this huge success of the film. But that is not completely true! His co-star Genelia D'Souza has also got her share in the success.

The film Force, which is directed by Nishikanth Kamath, is a remake of 2003 hit Tamil movie Kaakha Kaakha, which was enjoyed by many in South India. But now, this Hindi movie has also got good response in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad centres, where Genelia D'Souza is quite popular.

According to some trade experts, besides John, actress Genelia has also delivered excellent performance in the movie. Her acting as well as popularity have together created magic in the collection centres in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad and made it a big success.

John Abraham's Passion for Bikes

Extensive knowledge about the engines, and a ringtone of his very own Yamaha R1's sound, it definitely sounds like our chocolate boy John Abraham is in love again! But this time, it's with his Yamaha R1 1000cc and V-MAX 1700cc motorcycles.

According to Abraham, his motorcycles are his babies and he also believes that they are the most powerful machines in the world. He has also revealed that he has even managed to get away on them for late night rides!

Other than that, the actor has been busy shooting for his forthcoming Force opposite Genelia D'Souza which releases on September 30th.

John Abraham Matured as an Individual

They say life is the best teacher and it seems Bollywood heartthrob John Abraham believes in this. The actor is not sulking about his break up with Bipasha Basu and says he has matured over the years as he has learnt to accept the realities of life with a smile.

"I have matured enough in life. It's not necessarily with a woman, but every relationship in life matures you as an individual. So, I am sitting here before you guys as a much more mature individual," said John who split with Bipasha Basu earlier this year after an eight-year relationship.

"Earlier, may be three years ago, I would get upset about personal questions asked to me. Today, I am sitting, smiling, answering everything because it's a fact of life," said John.

The 38-year-old says he is not sulking and utilising the time to spend some quality time with his parents.

"I am just happy that I have time by myself. Honestly, once I became an actor in 2003, I did not spend enough time with my parents. I will be very honest, when we get into relationships and into our career, we forget that we have parents. We don't give them time," he said.

"I am spending as much time as possible with my parents because they are not doing very well physically. So, I am trying to spend as much time to just make out for all the lost time," he added.

The actor is preparing for the release of his next -- Force, which hits the screens Sep 30. He will also feature in Desi Boyz, Housefull 2 and Shootout at Wadala.

John Abraham broken and bruised!

Shooting for his first full-fledged action film "Force" is proving to be injurious for John Abraham as the actor has already suffered 282 bruises, seven broken bones and innumerable scratches during the shoot.

"Force", directed by Nishikanth Kamath, boasts of adrenaline pumping action sequences.

It has John with several physical injuries as the actor refused to use a body double.

According to sources, the film's production unit started maintaining a log book for all action sequences and people who performed it. The tally is said to have shocked everyone in the unit.

"Force" is a remake of Gautham Menon's successful 2003 Tamil film "Kaakha Kaakha".

John plays a cop in the film which also stars Genelia D'Souza. It is slated to release Sept 16.