NEW DEHLI: Actor-producer John Abraham is revelling in the 2014 Fifa World Cup fever. What we like the sound of is that he may be roping in a few real football players for his upcoming production venture 1911, which centres around the life of late Indian footballer Sibdas Bhaduri.
John shared that the film is “truly inspirational” of the football legend, who captained Indian football club Mohun Bagan in the historic 1911 IFA Shield final. Bhaduri led the team to a landmark victory against the East Yorkshire Regiment, becoming the maiden Asian team to emerge victorious in the competition.
John, a football fan himself, is upbeat about the project, which he is not only producing but also acting in. It would be interesting to see real players out of the Indian Super League to get the ball rolling in the film. “I think it would be great. Maybe, we can ask the people who are playing in the league to shoot for the film [later],” John said in an interview.
While this could be a plan John seems keen to work on, he’s confident that 1911, his project with the maverick filmmaker Shoojit Sircar of Vicky Donor and Madras Cafe fame, will draw positive feedback. The cameras will start rolling for the film in early 2015. “It’s truly an inspirational football story or sport story. We are very proud to make this film. If Vicky Donor and Madras Cafe are any indications to go by, we’ll give the audience an extremely good film,” he stated.
John shared the movie will turn out to be as “different” as his past two productions, both of which pocketed National Film Awards in different categories. “When people asked me about Vicky Donor and Madras Cafe, I always said, ‘They are different films’, but people never really understood what it meant until they saw the films. I say 1911 will be the first Indian international film,” claimed John.
“I expect it to do good business not just in India. If presented well by a forward-thinking studio abroad, then [we are hoping to] get great results from the film overseas as well. It’s got that flavour – very international yet very Indian,” he said regarding the project.
Produced by the actor’s banner JA Entertainment, in collaboration with Sunir Kheterpal’s Azure Entertainment, 1911 was initiated on Sircar’s insistence. “Shoojit said, ‘John, let’s do this together. You’re the only guy [in Bollywood] who understands football and really knows how to play it.’ I felt good about it and I think it’s a wonderful script,” shared John. Of his rapport with Shoojit, he said, “Shoojit and I have a great working relationship.” John is presently busy juggling between his home production Rocky Handsome and duties as the 2014 FIFA World Cup brand ambassador in India, as appointed by sports and entertainment channel Sony Six.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2014.
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