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John Abraham addressed the ban on his film The Diplomat in some Middle Eastern countries, denying...
Read More John Abraham has finally addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding the ban on his latest political thriller The Diplomat in several Middle Eastern countries. The actor, who also co-produced the film, said he was “shocked" to hear about the ban and firmly denied any claims that the film portrays Pakistan in a negative light. “People are very myopic in their vision," John told Hindustan Times.
“This is not an anti-Pakistan film, if at all, we showed that the judiciary system in Pakistan is honest. We showed an honest Pakistani lawyer and an honest Pakistani judge. Even the patrolling cars that are taking us to the border had honest policemen.
They are actually fighting against the other guys. So, we’ve in no way demeaned anybody." Abraham is proud that his film didn’t depend on nationalistic jingoism.
He said, “Ritesh Shah wrote a banger of a script, but I also give credit to my director Shivam Nair. I had a conversation with him where I told him that apne aap ko uuncha dikhane ke liye, kisi aur ko neecha dikhane ki zarurat nahi hai. We don’t have to put down another country or another person to show that we are better or bigger in any way.
We walked a thin line. Very categorically Shivam and I discussed that this cannot be a jingoism film. We’ve seen too many of them in the recent past, and that is not our formula of success.
We have to be sensitive to people and to countries, because there are good and bad people everywhere. We didn’t cheat anybody or sell our souls for the film." “No one knew when The Diplomat released.
There was absolutely no confidence around the film from the partners involved in the film. So, for it to shine out, I want to thank my critics and my audience for finding this film and for keeping it alive. I always say this that the audience always finds the good films," John Abraham said further.
The Diplomat marks John Abraham’s second consecutive film after Vedaa (2024), where he took on a secondary role to a female lead. But that doesn’t seem to bother the actor in the slightest. When asked if he ever feels conscious about not being the central character, John said, “It comes out of security.
You have to be secure as an actor and you need to know what is your intention? Do you want to keep playing a glorified lead or do you want to tell a good story? There’s nothing wrong with either, but I want to do the latter. You have to be a carrier of a good story, which is something that we must reinvent in our industry." On the PR culture, John said, “I don’t have a publicist, because I don’t know what they could do for me.
I don’t know if they are wrong or right, but I don’t probably fit into that story. I have slowly built a story around myself through my work which people find a lot more credible today. I want to be known by the films I do rather than by how many crores the film has done or how many affairs I have had, or by how many kinds of clothes I wore.
We all love commercial success, and I want that too, but today, the audience is defining an actor by the film they do or the choices they make." The Diplomat, starring John Abraham and Sadia Khateeb, is set against the backdrop of India–Pakistan relations, exploring themes of diplomacy and the personal conflicts faced by diplomats. It was theatrically released during the Holi festival on March 14, 2025.
The movie is based on the real-life case of Uzma Ahmed, who returned to India in 2017..
