/> With age, didn't Bipasha Basu say he's getting old? - John Abraham is growing maturer in his selection of parts. Just when one thought he had left behind his experimental phase of Anurag Kashyap's No Smoking and Kabir Khan's Kabul Express, John springs another offbeat surprise on his own career.

He is all set to work on a political thriller based on the LTTE (Liberation Tigers Of Tamil Eelam)'s activities in Sri Lanka.

Entitled Jaffna, the film will be directed by Shoojit Sircar who's just wrapped up the shooting of his breezy satire on sperm donation Vicky Donor featuring veejay Ayushmaan in the lead. Vicky Donor is co-produced by John Abraham. When John heard the script of Jaffna, in Sircar's words, he "freaked out."

Says Sircar, "John is a politically aware actor. He reads the newspaper every morning,knows what's going on in the world. He is clued in to the dynamics of the separatist strife in Sri Lanka. The minute I told him about my film Jaffna he was on board."

John will be producing Jaffna.

Not willing to divulge too many details at the moment, Shoojit says it's a political thriller set in the troubled violence-ridden city of Jaffna.

John would be in and out of Sri Lanka in the coming months to get a hang of the political situation in the pretty little country.

Says Sircar, "I am no stranger to themes of separatism and extremist violence.My first film Yahaan was about Kashmiri separatism. And now Jaffna would be carrying the theme of extremism to another extreme."

The only notable film on the LTTE's activities was Mani Ratnam's Kannathil Muttumital in Tamil with Madhavan in the lead.

"But that was a love story set against the LTTE backdrop. My film is a political thriller," asserts Sircar.

Though not willing to divulge too many details on John's character, the director hinted that the actor would require a great deal of preparation for his part.

Says Sircar, "John believes in Jaffna, as much as he believes in Vicky Donor.That's why he stepped in to produce both the projects. He saw the full film Vicky Donor and was completely kicked by it. He thinks Ayushmaan is a star in the making.I can't deny Ayushmaan has given an absolutely natural performance and even composed a track, a love ballad, for Vicky Donor.We shot the film in Delhi,my hometown, and Ayushmaan's.I know scores of films are shot in the Capital. But I'd like to think I've captured Delhi like no one before."

John would be going all-out to generate awareness about sperm donation in the weeks preceding the release of Vicky Donor.

He will also be shooting a promotional video with Shoojit Sircar. "It's not an item song, as reported in a section of the film.Please! Vickey Donor is a humorous take on sperm donation. Where would an item song fit in? John is doing a promotional video on why sperm donation is not something to be giggled about behind closed doors."

Jaffna would be Shoojit's big epic film after the ill-fated Johnny Mastana.