Actor warns against jingoistic films exploiting religion and politics, urging cinema to embrace nuanced, responsible patriotism instead 

CJ Desk :

We are living in a hyper political environment with religion conclusively dividing society and some films “without nuance or craft” are taking advantage of that to bring in the numbers, says a tough talking John Abraham.

Films can be patriotic in a restrained and responsible way without being jingoistic, adds the actor, who has done a series of geopolitical thrillers in recent years and was last seen in ZEE5’s Tehran.

“There are films that are patriotic that make a lot of sense,” Abraham told PTI, citing his film The Diplomat, which saw the actor in the role of diplomat J P Singh who rescued an Indian woman from Pakistan.

“Not because I have done it, but The Diplomat is one of those films where you’re not jingoistic, you’re not beating your chest. But you are patriotic in a resilient, silent, and restrained way,” the actor said.

Beginning his journey in movies with the 2003 film Jism and working through comedies such as Garam Masala and Dostana, the actor has moved on to films on politics and 

diplomacy with Madras Cafe, 

Parmanu and The Diplomat.

“Please understand and remember my words, I think we are living in a hyper political environment where religion is dividing us very conclusively, which is not the the most conducive environment to live in.

“Some films are taking advantage of that and bringing in the numbers. That’s really unfortunate to see because when you see certain films, you see there is no nuance or craft there, but you see that there are tropes. And it is a scary sight to see today,” Abraham told PTI in an interview.