During a media interaction for the promotion of his forthcoming entertainer, John was asked if he would be ready to lose his muscles for the sake of a role. He responded: "Of course! In fact, by next October, I have to be 20 kg lighter for a film that I am doing. So, I will start weight shedding for it."
John later told IANS that the film is "1911", a project which was to go on the floors in October 2014.
A Shoojit Sircar directorial, "1911" will revolve around football, a sport that John is passionate about and supports as the co-owner of Indian Super League (ISL) Guwahati franchise North East United FC.
"1911" will tell the story of late Indian footballer Sibdas Bhaduri, who captained Mohun Bagan in the historic 1911 IFA Shield final when they defeated the East Yorkshire Regiment to become the maiden Asian team to emerge victorious in the competition.
The actor-producer shared that Sircar is "not too happy" with certain things in the script, and is "tweaking" it a bit.
"It's a great script, but I can't say exactly when we will go on floors with it. It will be a good film," John, who has earlier produced films like "Vicky Donor" and "Madras Cafe" told IANS.
Being as health and fitness conscious as he is, is it a healthy practice to lose and gain weight for film roles?
"It's okay if you do it gradually, and besides we do it under the guidance of experts... Nutritionists... There's always proper guidance," he said, and added that he keeps fit with regular exercise and by avoiding alcohol, sweets and fatty foods.
He pointed out that in general, he's an atheist -- also clarifying that while he is spiritually inclined but not overly religious -- but said that he considers his body as a temple.
So, he believes in taking good care of it in a disciplined way.
Doesn't he feel like gorging on goodies sometimes? "No, I would not eat them. I actually don't feel like eating them. In fact, if I eat anything oily, I will fall sick," he quipped.
John was here to promote "Welcome Back" with Anil Kapoor and Shruti Haasan. The film releases on Friday.
