John Abraham says 'there are only good and bad films. Attack is a good one' | Exclusive

John Abraham-starrer Attack, a very ambitious sci-fi film, released in theatres today, April 1. The lead actor, in an exclusive interview with IndiaToday.in, said that he believes there are only 'good and bad films' and Attack is a good one, and the commercial response wouldn't define that.

John Abraham, Rakul Preet Singh, and Jacqueline Fernandez's action thriller Attack - Part 1 is out in theatres today, April 1. Directed by debutant director Lakshya Raj Anand, the film revolves around a cybertronic humanoid super-soldier, developed to combat terrorism. In an exclusive interview with IndiaToday.in, John explains what makes Attack a one-of-a-kind film, the reason for announcing a sequel, and much more.

Well, it's a known fact that action is John Abraham's first love. When he comes on screen, his fans and the audience look forward to seeing him in the action-hero avatar. Now, that the actor plays the role of a super-soldier in Attack, the expectations are sky-high. When asked how he upgraded the action in this film, John said, "You can only upgrade your action conceptually and with Attack, we have got a very new concept - the concept of a chip being implanted in a person which helps him [fight]. So that's the way you upgrade it conceptually and emotionally."

Since the subject is so new, what were the challenges faced by the cast? John answers, "Lakshya (director) had the biggest challenge. He made it easy for us with his thought process because he is a young mind. So, the way he thinks is very cool and very today. He doesn't think over the top, he thinks intelligent and contemporary. The only challenging part was to understand his thought process and when you understood it, it was easy."

John Abraham has a very clear understanding of cinema. He divides it into only two categories - good and bad films. The Dhoom actor said, "I was told during my prior films, that films are made for youngsters or masses or classes, but I don't think so. I only think there are two kinds of films: good films and bad films. You either make a good film or a bad one. Simple. We think and we believe - and I am saying this on record - that we have made a good film. How it works out commercially, we don't know. But, it is a good film."

The 49-year-old actor hopes that the audience accepts and supports this new concept. He says, "I know what the audience will take away from this film. They will be like 'Wow, that was great'. Attack is a gamechanger, it is a starting point, and I think we should make more of these in India. I hope that the audience and people support an endeavour like this because it is a very brave endeavour to do something like this. It is not easy, yes it's easy to make a proposal, get Rakul Preet, John Abraham on board, get four songs and do some nice romance and dance. But here, that was never the idea. The idea was to challenge, so we are challenging the audience's mind and trying to do something different. So, support for a film like this is very important."

Most of the time we see a sequel is announced post the release of the film. However, in this case, the makers of Attack pre-announced the sequel. Ask the actor about it and he says, "Lakshya has a very interesting idea for a sequel and when we saw Attack's ending, it was an afterthought to put Part 1 there. When producer Jayanti Lal Gada saw the film, he just loved it and it was he who told us to put Part 1 in it. He said this film needs to have a Part 2. It was a very presumptuous thought. We are not overconfident about our product but we know our takeaway is going to be that it is a good, smart film. The film is only 1-hour-45-minutes long. So, there are no Acts 1, 2, and 3. There is the first half, which is the setup, and the second half is the climax."

Attack's runtime is considerably shorter than normal Hindi films. When asked about the reason for making it so fast-paced, John said, "Lakshya said a very interesting thing. He said, 'I don't want my generation or anybody in the audience to pick up their phones and look at it'. He finds it very disrespectful. So, he wanted to make a film that is so fast-paced that people don't have the time to get distracted and I believe he has achieved that."