‘John Abraham Doesn’t Take Off His Shirt’

‘I
did
not
fall
for
box
office
pressures.’

Shivam
Nair‘s
new
film

The
Diplomat
is
doing


surprisingly
well
at
the
box
office,
proving
the
director’s
confident
decisions.

“Gradually
over
the
years,
I
had
to
make
compromises
in
everything
I
directed.
But
after

The
Diplomat,
I
have
decided
to
make
films
the
way
I
want
to,”
Shivam
tells

Subhash
K
Jha.

After
a
slow
start
at
the
box
office,

The
Diplomat
has
gathered
momentum
over
the
weekend.

Sir,
we
tried
to
make
a
honest
film.
I
had
a
gut
feeling
it
would
work.

Don’t
you
think
it
was
a
mistake
to
release
the
film
on
Holi?

Sir,
I
know
nothing
about
marketing
strategies.
I
just
made
the
film
that
I
wanted
to,
the
rest
was
left
to
the
experts.

I
made
the
story
without
compromises.

I
did
not
fall
for
box
office
pressures.

There
is
no
romantic
lead
in
my
film,
only
one
song,
and
John
Abraham
doesn’t
take
off
his
shirt.

I
have
admired
your
work
since
I
saw

Ahista
Ahista
in
2006.

That
was
my
directorial
debut.
Imtiaz
Ali
had
written
the
film
and
I
had
full
control
over
what
I
shot.

Gradually
over
the
years,
I
had
to
make
compromises
in
everything
I
directed.

But
after

The
Diplomat,
I
have
decided
to
make
films
the
way
I
want
to.

Before

The
Diplomat,
Web
series
kept
me
busy,
particularly

Special
Ops
and

Mukhbir.

When
did
you
decide
to
make
a
film
on
the
diplomatic
crisis
involving
Ambassador
J
P
Singh?

⁠I
was
introduced
to
this
through
Uzma
Ahmed.

I
was
intrigued
by
his
personality
and
his
empathy
for
Uzma.

It
was
a
conscious
decision
to
stick
to
the
actual
story
and
not
fictionalise
it.

Most
of
what
you
see
is
fact,
about
90
percent.⁠

Both
JP
and
Uzma
shared
their
detailed
stories
with
us.

The
casting
was
a
result
of
my
growth
as
a
filmmaker.
⁠John
Abraham
gave
me
creative
freedom
to
make
the
film
the
way
I
wanted
to.

How
do
you
react
to
the
film
being
seen
as
anti-Pakistan?

⁠I
don’t
think
the
film
is
anti-anything.

It’s
a
story
about
a
young
woman
who
got
conned
and
put
in
a
dangerous
situation
and
was
rescued
by
a
wise
diplomat.