John Abraham: Our industry is not secular

John Abraham is of the opinion that the Hindi film industry is not a secular place. "Who told you that the industry is secular? The industry is not 100 per cent secular. It's polarized. This is a fact of life," John quipped when asked if the industry was a fair playing ground, with rampant divisive mood brewing all around. John was at an event to promote his upcoming flick "Batla House" in Mumbai when he expressed the opinion.

"The problem is that the world is polarized. There is a dialogue in my film, ‘It is not that a particular community is suffering, the entire world is suffering'. Look at (Donald) Trump, look at Brexit, look at Boris Johnson - the world is polarized today. You are living in this world, so, you have to deal with it. At the same time, I feel this is the best country and the best industry," he said.

The 46-year-old actor believes social media should not be taken seriously because those who troll, do not have a face. 

Talking about people sharing irresponsible statements on social media, John said: "Mostly you see all this on social media because when you are sitting in an audience, there is something that actually controls our emotions and keeps us at bay from making irresponsible statements. On social media, none of us really have a face, which is why you will see the most toxic statements emerge. Do not believe in social media."

John's upcoming movie "Batla House" is inspired by Delhi's Batla House encounter case of 2008, and is set to clash with Akshay Kumar's "Mission Mangal" at the box office on Independence Day. 

Talking about the clash, John said: "I think the good thing is that there are two very credible films releasing (on the same day). Talking about business, there is enough business for two films on that day - both Akshay and I know that. I think it's a great day for the audience, they are the winners because they get to choose from two very good films."

Talking about his film, John added: "‘Batla House' is an edge-of-the-seat thriller. So, even if you don't care about the incident, the film still works for you. Credit to (director) Nikkhil (Advani), and (writer) Ritesh (Shah) who have put four years of research into the film. Not only do you have a thriller, but when you walk out of the theatre, you will scratch your head and marvel at the fact that this was also true."

About the Bollywood trend of adapting true incidents onto the screen, he said: "Be it ‘Article 15', ‘Super 30' or ‘Uri', I think we are telling good stories now. I would want to believe that ‘Batla House' is one of those exceptionally good stories being told. I don't think it is a trend. I feel, you should do what you really believe in. So, if you want to make a story on a real-life character or incident, you make it. If you want to tell a fictitious story, do it. Everything works."

"Batla House" directed by Nikkhil Advani also stars Mrunal Thakur, Ravi Kishan and Rajesh Sharma in key roles. The action-thriller is slated to hit theatres on August 15.