John may have recovered from his recent Kabul illness and bike accident, but girlfriend Bipasha admits she’s still worried about him.

“When you’re close to someone, you’re bound to get affected. Knowing the business both of us are in, we can’t afford such setbacks.

At this point in his career, he needs to be constantly on the go. An accident is a freak happening. Anything can happen, anytime. “


Evil eye

The actress says she believes in buri nazar, “When I started my career, I used to get fan mail in hordes, raving about my eyes. Then, over a period of one year, I often had eye infections.

After that, I started believing in “nazar�. Maybe fans’ appreciation works in a weird ways; that’s my mother’s belief. And I believe everything my mother believes.�

Bipasha thinks this is true in Abraham’s case. “People love John. Maybe nazar lag gayi. Uski bike ko to definitely nazar lagi hai… but I’m sure fifty per cent of the people are with us. With success and popularity, we’re bound to have rumours and bad press. If we can’t handle it, we shouldn’t be part of the entertainment industry.�

She is impressed by John’s attitude to success. “John has had too much adulation, in too little time.

He doesn’t know how to cope with it. He’s loved by people like crazy; fortunately, he remains down-to-earth despite being so successful.� And Bipasha herself? “I’m very down-to-earth. I cannot be with a man who is starry.�

Talk veers to John’s role in Deepa Mehta’s Water. “He’s so adorable in Water. He has fitted in very nicely. From his biker-in-a-ganji image, he has got into his Gandhian khadi look, effortlessly. There was an unstated chemistry between John and Lisa Ray, which I loved.�

Smarter choices

Meanwhile, Bipasha isn’t in a hurry to sign films. “I really don’t want to do only realistic roles. I have to balance them with glamorous roles, to satisfy myself and my fans as an actor. So, along with Corporate, I’m very happy shooting Abbas-Mustan’s film.

They introduced me five years ago, in Ajnabee. Now, they can see the change in me. Today, I’m an actress — five years ago, I didn’t know what I was doing. I’ve become a little sharper in the last two years.�

“Now, I only do those films that will get an audience. Even when I do a realistic film, it will have to be with a big filmmaker. Earlier, I was too shy to do so, but today, if I want to work with a particular director, I can go and ask him for work. But for this, I must genuinely like a director’s work.�