Early life and education[edit]
Modeling[edit]
John Abraham started his modelling career appearing in the music video of the song "Surma" by
Punjabi singer
Jazzy B.
[15] He then joined a media firm Time & Space Media Entertainment Promotions Ltd., which, however, closed because of financial problems. Later, he worked for Enterprises-Nexus as a
media planner.
[16] In 1999, he won the
Gladrags Manhunt Contest and went to the
Philippines for
Manhunt International, where he won second place.
[17] Following this, he was signed by Carrie Models in
Singapore and did some modelling there; he later modelled in
Hong Kong,
London and
New York City. He also appeared in a number of commercial advertisements and in other music videos for singers including
Pankaj Udhas,
Hans Raj Hans and
Babul Supriyo. To improve his acting skills, Abraham joined the Kishore Namit Kapoor acting laboratory and completed an acting course while juggling modelling assignments.
[18]
Abraham made his acting debut with
Jism (2003), a
thriller film which according to Box Office India, was "above average" grossing 132,500,000 Rs.
[19]
He played the role of Kabir – the main antagonist in
Dhoom in 2004, an
action film produced by
Yash Raj Films. The film was one of the highest grossing films of that year.
[20]
He has a fashion line— branded JA Clothes — which primarily features his favorite article of clothing, jeans.
[27]
In 2011, was seen in the films
Aashayein and
Jhootha Hi Sahi. Both of the films turned out to be box office failures. Lately, Abraham has appeared in films
Force (2011),
Desi Boyz (2011), and
Housefull 2 (2012). His first film of 2013 was the multi-starrer
Race 2 which was commercially successful, though his second release the coming-of-age romantic comedy
I, Me Aur Main, under performed at the box office. His next release was
Shootout at Wadala, in which he was portraying the role of gangster
Manya Surve. The film emerged a success at the box office.His latest movie
Madras Cafe, which also is a second movie for him as a producer garnered much critical acclaim, also the collections of the movie saw an upward trend after the terrific word of mouth.
Producer[edit]
His debut film as a producer was titled
Vicky Donor (2012) and featured
Ayushmann Khurrana,
Annu Kapoor and
Yami Gautam. Abraham also appeared in an item-number for the film.
[28] It opened to positive response, and turned out to be a critical and commercial success. His second production,
Madras Cafe which is also directed by
Shoojit Sircar, opened to overwhelming response from the critics, and after taking a positive start at the box-office, the film saw an enormous jump owing to the terrific word of mouth. Abraham has also announced his ideas on
Hamara Bajaj, an upcoming reality film he is planning with most of the cast & crew of
Vicky Donor.
Personal life[edit]
During the filming of
Jism in 2002, Abraham began to date his co-star
Bipasha Basu. They were in a relationship until early 2011 when the couple officially broke up.
[29][30][31][32][33] Whilst together, the two were often referred to as a
supercouple in the Indian media.
[34] He is now in a relationship with Priya Runchal, an
NRI financial analyst and investment banker from USA native to
McLeodganj, whom he met in Mumbai, in December, 2010.
[35]
Social causes[edit]
In April 2013 on behalf of
PETA Abraham wrote a letter to Minister for Environment and Forests, Jayanthi Natarajan, asking that she make all circuses in India animal-free.
[40][41]
TV show[edit]
A four-part TV show titled
John Abraham: A Simple Life was telecast on
NDTV Good Times from 18 November to 21 November 2013. The show gave viewers a sneak peek into John Abraham's life.
[42][43][44]
Filmography[edit]
Producer[edit]
Awards and nominations[edit]
- National Film Awards
- Won
- 2013: National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment for Vicky Donor
- Filmfare Awards
- Nominated
- IIFA Awards
- Won
- Nominated
- Zee Cine Awards
- Won
- Nominated
- Star Screen Awards
Won
- Bollywood Movie Awards
- Won
- Nominated
- Stardust Awards
- Won
- Global Indian Film Awards
- Nominated
Other awards[edit]
- 2006: Rajiv Gandhi Award for his achievement in Bollywood[55]
- 2007: Giant International Awards for his contribution to Indian cinema[56]
- 2008: Sexiest Asian Man[57]
- 2009: Loins Club Award[58]
- 2011: India's Sexiest Bachelor by the BIG CBS PRIME[59]