I could become a one-man band: John Abraham

Mumbai, Nov 20 (IANS) He learned to play the flute for his role in 'Water' and now John Abraham is taking guitar lessons for Imtiaz Ali's 'Rock Star' and says he could soon become a one-man band.

'Yes, I'm going to get those strings right. No point in strumming senselessly. Nowadays, the audience has got very wise. They can tell when an actor is faking it. In fact, I learnt to play the flute for my role in 'Water'. At this rate I could become a one-man band,' John told IANS.

'But I didn't have to learn to ride the bike for 'Dhoom'. Seriously, it's good fun to expand your horizons for the sake of roles. I don't want to be an actor just to look good and wear trendy clothes on screen. I want to go deeper into my characters. It's great fun to prepare for a role,' he said.

Deepa Mehta, who directed John in her Oscar nominated 'Water', says the actor shocked her with his preparedness.

'Whether it was getting into a dhoti or playing the flute or getting the body language of his character right, John put his soul into 'Water'. We've become really close friends. I'm looking forward to working with him again in 'Exclusion',' said Mehta.

John smiles at Mehta's compliments.

He said: 'By the grace of god, I've plenty of prolific work on my plate. I love the family of directors I'm working with - Deepa, Sriram Raghavan, Nagesh Kukunoor ('Aashayein'), Imtiaz Ali ('Rock Star'). If you listen to the scripts, you would wonder why I'm doing such unusual films when I could be doing hardcore commercial cinema. It's because I want to grow as an actor.'

Incidentally, Saif Ali Khan is the other actor in Bollywood who plays the guitar. Maybe the two actors can jam together?

'Why not?' laughed John.