John Abraham is stepping up his game after the overwhelming response to his ruthless villain’s character in Yash Raj Films’ biggest ever blockbuster, Pathaan. The action star is now reassessing his film selection and passing on a number of projects he had previously greenlit to line up a strong slate of intriguing projects for the next two years. He wants to focus on action films going forward and has reportedly backed out of two comedy flicks he was supposed to start this year: Sajid Khan’s 100% and Firoz Nadiadwala’s Awara Pagal Deewana 2. John is now looking for projects that promise big-screen viewing and has already signed his first film post-Pathaan’s release.
Peepingmoon.com has exclusively learned that John Abraham is teaming up with Nikkhil Advani again after their 2019 action thriller, Batla House. The Satyameva Jayate actor will headline Advani’s next yet-untitled action drama inspired by true events. Bunty Aur Babli 2 actress Sharvari Wagh and Stree star Abhishek Banerjee also star in pivotal roles in this film. John will apparently play the role of a rescuer, while Sharvari is said to be playing a girl on the run. Nikkhil’s banner Emmay Entertainment produces this film with Zee Studios, continuing their production partnership following their most recent sleeper hit, Mrs. Chatterjee vs. Norway. The pre-production of the film has already begun, and shooting will start in July 2023.
John Abraham and Nikkhil Advani are finally working together again after their last attempt, an ambitious period drama, couldn’t be made for various reasons. The actor-director had announced a big-scale sports film in late 2018 based on an iconic 1911 football match that marked a defining moment in India’s freedom struggle. The film was about India's premier football club, Mohun Bagan, which made history by defeating a British regimental team, the East Yorkshire Regiment, in the 1911 Indian Football Association (IFA) Shield campaign, and how the victory sparked a nationalist movement across the country, which eventually led to its freedom in 1947. However, the film was put on the backburner because of the COVID-19 pandemic, only to be shelved later due to financial constraints.
John will start shooting for Nikkhil’s film after finishing Shivam Nair’s The Diplomat, which is based on the real-life story of an Indian diplomat’s efforts to repatriate an Indian girl from Pakistan, where she was allegedly forced and duped into marrying against her will. John plays the role of JP Singh, India’s former Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad, in this edge-of-the-seat thriller. The action star also has Dinesh Vijan’s geo-political thriller, Tehran, scheduled to release in theatres this year.
Nikkhil Advani, meanwhile, has the second season of Mumbai Diaries coming up next on Amazon Prime Video. The director has also been working extensively on his SonyLIV series, Freedom at Midnight, based on a non-fiction book by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. Nikkhil serves as the showrunner on this political thriller show and will dive into it soon after finishing the John Abraham film. The directorial endeavours aside, Nikkhil is also producing over half a dozen projects under his banner, Emmay Entertainment.
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