'John Abraham Doesn't Take Off His Shirt'

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March 18, 2025 09:04 IST

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'I did not fall for box office pressures.'

IMAGE: John Abraham in The Diplomat.

Shivam Nair's new film The Diplomat is doing surprisingly well at the box office, proving the director's confident decisions.

"Gradually over the years, I had to make compromises in everything I directed. But after The Diplomat, I have decided to make films the way I want to," Shivam tells Subhash K Jha.

 

After a slow start at the box office, The Diplomat has gathered momentum over the weekend.

Sir, we tried to make a honest film. I had a gut feeling it would work.

Don't you think it was a mistake to release the film on Holi?

Sir, I know nothing about marketing strategies. I just made the film that I wanted to, the rest was left to the experts.

I made the story without compromises.

I did not fall for box office pressures.

There is no romantic lead in my film, only one song, and John Abraham doesn't take off his shirt.

I have admired your work since I saw Ahista Ahista in 2006.

That was my directorial debut. Imtiaz Ali had written the film and I had full control over what I shot.

Gradually over the years, I had to make compromises in everything I directed.

But after The Diplomat, I have decided to make films the way I want to.

Before The Diplomat, Web series kept me busy, particularly Special Ops and Mukhbir.

IMAGE: Director Shivam Nair with John Abraham and Sharib Hashmi, and Producers Sameer Dixit and Jatish Varma. Photograph: Kind courtesy Sharib Hashmi/Instagram

When did you decide to make a film on the diplomatic crisis involving Ambassador J P Singh?

⁠I was introduced to this through Uzma Ahmed.

I was intrigued by his personality and his empathy for Uzma.

It was a conscious decision to stick to the actual story and not fictionalise it.

Most of what you see is fact, about 90 percent.⁠

Both JP and Uzma shared their detailed stories with us.

The casting was a result of my growth as a filmmaker. ⁠John Abraham gave me creative freedom to make the film the way I wanted to.

How do you react to the film being seen as anti-Pakistan?

⁠I don't think the film is anti-anything.

It's a story about a young woman who got conned and put in a dangerous situation and was rescued by a wise diplomat.

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