The Diplomat Movie Review and Release Live updates

Actor John Abraham, who is awaiting the release of his film ‘The Diplomat’ has given a peek into one of the crucial lines from the film ahead of its release.

John spoke with IANS in the run up to the film’s release, and broke down his process of approaching his titular character.

The actor told IANS, “There is a very important line in the film that says, ‘I am a diplomat by profession, not by character’. So, my character in the film is living two parallel lives. What Shivam (the director) has successfully done is he has shown the life of a diplomat. But, parallelly he has also shown what my character is going through in his personal life. Coming back to how we developed this character, Shivam was very clear from the start. He said, ‘I do not want to see John Abraham, I want to see JP Singh’. Now, we all know that I come with the image of being an action hero, I fight on screen”.

He continued, “Now, for a director it is challenging to get me into that mould. Yes, we went into that mould in ‘Madras Cafe’, we went into that mould in probably ‘No Smoking’, and in ‘Parmanu’. So, we have been into that space successfully. What Shivam did was, after we had readings, he put me on to Saurabh Sachdeva, where I started developing myself in terms of the character, JP Singh. Body language, little, little things, dialogue delivery, everything had to be JP Singh.

John Abraham, who currently awaits the release of his upcoming film ‘The Diplomat’, spoke about closely observing Indian diplomat J.P. Singh when he met him on the set of the movie.

The film is based on true events. The actor portrays an Indian diplomat rescuing an Indian woman from Pakistan. John also shared insights about the workshops he attended for his character and how they helped him.

Talking about observing Indian diplomat J.P. Singh when he met him on set, he said: “J.P. Singh sir came on set, and I observed his body language, the way he spoke—bahut hi sweet, simple, lekin pata hai jaise shatranj ke table pe, on the chess table, how you have your moves, I think he thinks 10 moves ahead.”

John told IANS, “I am following what’s happening between Israel and Hamas, and also the Russia-Ukraine war, I am just cued in on that. I feel Jerusalem is at the centre of every conflict in the world today. The whole conflict between East and West Jerusalem, the wall, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Wailing Wall or the Western Wall, the history from 1947, the Abraham Accord, the Balfour Accord and everything, that has led to what’s happening across the world today”.

The actor also feels that having geo-political knowledge makes a person more aware, and enhances their ability to create an informed opinion honing their decision making capabilities.

He said, “When you have that kind of geopolitical knowledge at the back of your head, like even my character in ‘The Diplomat’, if he has it at the back of his head, sometimes you don't say it. But your audience knows that this guy knows his stuff. So, that's very important”.

Recently, Israel conducted air-strikes in Damascus, Syria. Talking about the bombings in Damascus, John said, “Just when Damascus was coming, a little into shape! What's gone wrong? I have got this geo-political anxiety, you know how people have environmental anxiety, I have got geo-political anxiety. What's happening with the world”.

Actor John Abraham, who is gearing up for his upcoming movie ‘The Diplomat’, has a keen interest in geo-politics. In fact, it’s his interest in geo-politics that drew him to this film. However, an unchecked interest could easily turn into obsession which can later induce anxiety and mess-up the cortisol and adrenaline levels in the body.

John has himself admitted that at times he gets geo-political anxiety similar to how people have environmental anxiety. Well, it's not particularly a good thing for someone like John, who has insane fitness levels.

The actor spoke with IANS ahead of the film’s release, and shared which geo-political development has caught his fancy, of late.

John told IANS, “I am following what’s happening between Israel and Hamas, and also the Russia-Ukraine war, I am just cued in on that. I feel Jerusalem is at the centre of every conflict in the world today. The whole conflict between East and West Jerusalem, the wall, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Wailing Wall or the Western Wall, the history from 1947, the Abraham Accord, the Balfour Accord and everything, that has led to what’s happening across the world today”.

Preparing for the role of JP Singh required Abraham to immerse himself in the character, for which he said he undertook training from actor and acting coach Saurabh Sachdeva, known for his role in "Animal".

"Shivam put me through a drill. We went through reading with the entire cast of this film. Then, I took a break and met Saurabh Sachdeva, who coached me on this character. For three weeks, I was with Saurabh every day," he said, adding that he and Sachdeva met JP Singh to portray his body language and mannerism correctly.

The actor said he was captivated by the script of "The Diplomat" from the first reading.

"I love geopolitics, so I thought this looks interesting, and I fell in love with what I read, credit to Ritesh Shah (writer). For me, it's about the story; it's immaterial whether you see a woman or a man in front. If the painting is beautiful, all the characters look beautiful," the actor said.

One of the film's standout themes is the challenges faced by women in society, and Abraham said more awareness is needed to bring a change.

"Women, children and animals are not safe in India. I've said this before, and I'll keep repeating it, till someone hears it. Children and animals are not safe because there aren't too many laws. With regards to women, you need to have strict laws. I'm not a law expert, so I'm not going to get into it.

"You go to the Middle East, Dubai, women are safe. There must be some reason why they are safe there and are not here. It stems out of education and awareness, there is a multi-pronged approach. We are a developing society; we will get there, but it will take us some time. But along the way, there is going to be a lot of collateral damage, and you see it every day."

John Abraham believes it is now important to focus on the basics that make any story click with the audience and that's writing.

"My vision as a producer and as an actor is just to create good stories and reach out to a wider audience. Do I want the numbers? I want the Rs 100 crore, 200s, 300s and the 400 crores. We all want that, but we want that with good stories. That's the difference.

"We as an audience and trade are putting too much stress into the bifurcation of how the money is being spent. We've to cut all this noise, go back to writing, go back to where we started from and why we wanted to make films."

Admitting that he also has been "guilty" of prioritising box office, Abraham said he now recognises the significance of well-crafted stories.

Citing the example of "The Diplomat", the actor said it's important that the movie, directed by Shivam Nair of "Naam Shabana" and "Special Ops", attains commercial success as that will empower him and his team to continue making such films.

Actor-producer John Abraham says he has often been written off in the industry in his over two-decade-long career but his audience has kept him going, something that he respects and wants to repay by telling good stories. Abraham has hits in varied genres whether it is high-octane actioners like "Dhoom", "Race 2", "Satyameva Jayate", "Dishoom", and "Pathaan"; comedies such as "Garam Masala", "Dostana", "Housefull 2" or dramas like "Water", "No Smoking", "New York", "Madras Café", "Parmanu", and "Vedaa".
The actor, whose next release "The Diplomat" is inspired by true incidents, said the film will, hopefully, resonate with viewers in the brightest way possible.

"People have, in the past, said that 'Parmanu' marked my 1.0 version because I'd disappeared for four years. These are obituaries that are written every day about me, and it's fine, I don't have a problem with it. My career has been built on criticism, I enjoy it," Abraham told PTI in an interview.

"The only thing that's kept me going in this is my audience. People in the trade, producers, critics they all judge you by numbers and I get all that, and I respect that. That's business. But the only people that have kept me going and have made me survive is my audience. And I made 'The Diplomat' for that audience," he added.