Akshay is a friend, I wish him best: John on clash with ‘Gold’

MUMBAI: Actor John Abraham, whose upcoming film “Satyameva Jayate” will clash with Akshay Kumar starrer “Gold” on August 15, today said the two films can release on the same day as the stories are different. This Independence Day three films will be clashing at the box office – “Satyameva Jayate”, “Gold” and “Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se”, which stars Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol.”Akshay is a friend, I wish him the best. Two films can release on the same day as both the films are of different genres,” John told reporters here at the trailer launch of “Satyameva Jayate”. Director Milap Zaveri said, “I wish ‘Gold’ all the best. I wish and hope all the films that are releasing on August 15 get positive response and do good business.”

John said “Satyameva Jayate” is a commercial entertainer with patriotism at its core. “We have spoken about patriotism, corruption. This is an unfiltered commercial film. It has everything from drama to action,” he said. Akshay and John, who have worked together in films like “Garam Masala”, “Housefull 2” and “Desi Boyz”, are the two stars from Bollywood who are exploring the genre of patriotic films. When asked if there is a healthy competition between him and Akshay, John said, “I do films that I like in terms of script. I enjoyed making ‘Parmanu’ and I like this space. I am doing ‘RAW’ and then I have ‘Batla House’. “It depends on what you want to do at that point of time. Each actor is entitled to choose what they want to do next. Akshay is doing a comedy film next,” John said. For “Satyameva Jayate”, John has once again collaborated with actor Manoj Bajpayee after “Shootout at Wadala”.

Calling Bajpayee as an “institution of acting”, the “Parmanu” actor said, “He is one of the greatest actors we have in Hindi cinema. Sharing screen time with him is special. For people like me, working with Manoj Bajpayee is like watching a film.” Praising John and the film, Bajpayee said, “We have worked together and it was a great experience. The attitude of people changes Friday to Friday, but John has remained the same.”That is why he has come so far and achieved so much. We talk about nepotism and all; here is John Abraham who has been part of good and successful film as an outsider. I feel that nicety and hard work never fails.” PTI