'I don’t respect awards at all': John Abraham talks about his films not being nominated and more

As a year ends and another begins, the awards season kicks off in Bollywood. A few shows were held recently, and from red carpet appearances to loved-up moments between couples, there were headlines galore. However, doubts over the credibility of these awards and criticism for it have always been common. Several actors like Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn, Naseeruddin Shah have often shared why they don't believe in it and hence never attend. John Abraham is also among this list of actors and the actor has now said he has ‘zero respect’ for the events except for the National Award, while questioning the celebrities who make an appearance. 

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John took a dig at the trend of awarding every star something and creating awards like ‘Best Social Media Internet Star’, celebrities endorsing pan masala brands, who are often the brand sponsors of these events, and those who dance at weddings. The actor added that his film ‘Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran’ was worth nominations, but it was not nominated since they know about his dislike for the awards. 

John at a recent media interaction said, “I don’t respect awards at all. How can you have an award called ‘Best Social Media Internet Star?’ I have zero respect for awards and they know (it). Because I disrespect them, they don’t even nominate me. If you ask me, Parmanu is worth many nominations, but we wouldn’t be nominated because of my total disrespect for every award barring the National Award maybe.” 

He added, “You all know it’s a laughing stock! Still, we go for it and still, we have a pan masala brand endorsing the award. Imagine where is our credibility gone today? To the dogs? But, that’s the lifestyle choice. You have chosen to dance at weddings, you deal with it."

The ‘Dostana’ star also took a dig at the current trend of stars posting every single update on Instagram.

He remarked, “I keep myself private and what’s the point if I am constantly putting things on Instagram all the time? That’s what the problem is today... there are so many social media stars, but what have they really done in cinema? Have any of their films impacted you? The answer is probably no.” 

“So, I think it is important to let your work do the talking. It is easy for me to stand bare bodied on social media and keep shooting. I can do 40 exercises bare bodied, but that’s not what I want.” 

The actor also feels there’s no need for him to be a part of the various camps in B-Town and their parties as he believes in making his own kind of films     

“I have created a space for myself and I want to live there because if you conform to a certain style or culture then you land up at every party or in a camp and I am not a follower. I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know how to follow people, I don’t know how to belong to camps. I don’t understand that culture because it doesn’t exist in my head, which is why I do my kind of films. I don’t go to any director with my hands folded asking a film because I believe I can create my own content.” 

READ: John Abraham Slams Bollywood Actors Who Are Obsessed With Box Office Figures, Here's What He Said

He continued, “I am not saying my content is best in the world but at least today when anyone goes to watch a JA Entertainment film, they believe there's something different about it. I am not saying that I try to do a Rs 100-crore film or a Rs 200-crore film, I just want to create a different story that you could possibly enjoy. That's why I keep myself private." 

While John’s ‘Romeo Akbar Walter’ released recently, his production house has backed movies like ‘Madras Café', ‘Parmanu’ and the upcoming Independence Day release, ‘Batla House’.   

About his choice of ventures, John asserted, "When I did Madras Cafe, it was because I was very impacted by Rajiv Gandhi's death. I did Parmanu because it was a story that stayed with me for the longest period of time and I felt how do the youngsters in India do not know what happened in Pokhran. When I am doing RAW, it's another side of our defence forces that I want to show to everyone out here, and if I do a Batla House, it's a very sensitive space." 

"Batla House is perhaps the most contentious subject in India after Babri Masjid. So, I am actually attempting something where I know the probability of failure is high, but the probability of success is even higher.”