Eye candy man

Abraham play an NRI whose life witnesses a turn of events after the 9/11 attacks in the US. “I play a typical American jock who shares a strong friendship with Neil’s (Nitin Mukesh) and Katrina’s (Kaif) characters,” he explains.

Coincidentally,this comes soon after his friendly Dostana act. But Abraham insists that that’s where the similarities end. “This movie talks about racial discrimination towards South Asians after 9/11 and,at the risk of sounding pompous,I say that this is my best performance by eons and light years,” the actor insists.

What? We can’t refer to him as hottie hunk no more? “I’m happy if I’m viewed as an eye candy—in fact,it’s a serious problem if I stop being looked at as an eye candy,” he smiles,and you almost believe he’s sincere. “One has to brush these issues aside. The people who wish to criticise my work can carry on and I won’t quite care because if the audience tells me that they love me,then my job is done. I’m not going to attend 40 award functions and repeat the same 40 speeches to please anyone. And those who don’t like my work need not work with me — they can walk away from the side.”

Abraham is dressed in his trademark T-shirts and denims. “My father is a wise old man and he once told this story by William Wordsworth where this huge guy has to cross a bridge that can take only one person at a time. When the big guy is halfway onto the bridge,he meets Little John and tells him,‘I don’t let fools pass’ to which Little John quietly retreats and replies ‘But I do’,” says the 36-year-old. “I’m like Little John. People are constantly going to try and bully me or expect me to prove myself. But it’s up to me to take it seriously and feel insecure or let it pass and prove myself through my work.”

He dismisses queries of long,late-night chats with his co-star Katrina as “so what if I did?” reiterating that work is all what he wants to talk about.