John is proud of No Smoking

Much has been written about John and his films No Smoking but John is proud of the film despite it bombing at the box office. John said, “I am proud of No Smoking. Unfortunately, Anurag Kashyap does not have a big clout in the industry. And a lot of people reacted adversely to the film after reading the press reviews.” The actor explained, “It is an intelligent film. The producers thought the film would be a commercial film, whereas the director thought that the film was a festival film.” He says, “If a film fails, everybody moves away from that person. I can never understand this logic. Look at that person’s past work. Anurag is a genius. I will always stand by him. I may not have gained commercial success out of this film but I have definitely earned respect from my kith and kin. My directors tell me that it takes a lot of courage to stand in every frame and carry a film on your shoulders.” But does that influence him or his forthcoming films? “Of course not. When I went to Indore, there was an event on cancer, telling kids not to smoke with a tagline ‘John says No Smoking’. I really meant what I said, but in a way I felt that it was a promotion for No Smoking,” reveals John. Talking about Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, John says, “The film is about Asian boys settled in England. They play football against a white team. Our team is Southall United and Bipasha Basu plays our physiotherapist. There is an element of racism in the film. I am called a Paki by some whites which is used as a derogatory term. Goal is about self-respect.” Bipasha has appointed an agent in Hollywood, so is the dashing actor also planning to follow suit? “Yes, provided he settles in Bandra and makes Hollywood films for me here,”chuckles John. The trend of film deals is very in these days, so is our Johnny boy also planning to sign any? He replies, “I have been offered all of them, but I do not want to. Is it important to have a tag in the papers saying you have been signed for a multi-crore deal? I don’t think so. It is important to deliver. Right now I am still trying to do so. I don’t deserve anything right now. I am just trying to be honest with my work, take one film at a time.” He jokes, “Why commit and get stuck? Suppose your price soars after that.”