John Abraham

Biography

Born and brought up in Mumbai, India, John Abraham is one of the most successful male models in India. John grew up in a middle-class family.

 His father Abraham John is a Syrian Christian (Nasrani or Saint Thomas Christian) from Aluva, Kerala, India and his mother Firoza Irani is a Zoroastrian Parsi from India's Parsi community. 

His father is an architect and his mother is a homemaker and charity worker. He has a younger brother named Alan Abraham. J

ohn's Parsi name given to him by his mother's family is Farhan. Being a Syrian Christian from Kerala, his father gave him John, a biblical name, as his first name and Abraham as his last name from the Nasrani naming system by receiving the father's first name as a last name. 

A Syrian Christian person from Kerala receives their surname from their paternal grandfather, father, or family house.

John studied at Bombay Scottish School, Mahim in Mumbai. He got his bachelor's degree in honors economics from Jai Hind College and got his MBA from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. 

John also received an MMS from Mumbai Educational Trust (MET). He was the captain of his football team at Jai Hind College. 

He also ran track at Bombay Scottish School, where he was a champion in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. John trained in Tae Kwon Do under master Javed Khan.

After college, he worked in media at Time & Space Media Entertainment Promotions Ltd and Enterprise Nexus. His big break came when he entered the Gladrags Manhunt competition in March of 1999. 

He almost missed the deadline, but luckily, he was allowed in. John won Gladrags Manhunt and went on to compete for Gladrags Manhunt International in the Philippines, where he finished first runner-up.

 After that, he began working on many modeling assignments. He got signed by Cary Models in Singapore and did a fair amount of work there, and later in Hong Kong, London, and New York.

With a name like John Abraham, it gave him a noted stand when he entered the modeling field. His revolutionary looks, macho body, baby smiles, and nice character made him the highest-paid supermodel in India. 

Being a hot star in the modeling world, he made his film debut in 2003. Not like usual Bollywood heroes who debut in male-oriented action features, he accepted the erotic and emotional Jism (2003). 

Unfortunately, the film did not do well, but his work was noticed widely. Later the same year came the paranormal Saaya (2003) and romantic Paap (2003), neither of which did well at the box office.

His first blockbuster smash hit came in the year 2004 when he played the antihero Kabir in Dhoom (2004).

Indian supermodel

Was in a relationship with Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu from 2002-2011. They were often referred to as super-couple in the Indian media.

His voice was dubbed by another actor in his first film Jism (2003).

His favorite actress is Rani Mukerji.

Was engaged to Raveena Tandon in 2002.

Viraj Adhav was the dubbing artist who dubbed for John Abraham in his first few films.

Was in kindergarten with Uday Chopra.

Is half Malayali and half Parsi. His father is a Christian from Kerala and his mother belongs to India's Parsi community.

Was approached by Rajiv Rai for Naseeruddin Shah's role in Asambhav (2004). After he refused the role, Rajiv Rai decided to make the character older and approached Shah.

Starred in Cinevista's shelved film co-starring Raveena Tandon and Akanksha Malhotra. Was to be directed by Puneet Issar. This was in 2002.

Before he went to modeling he was working as a media planner for an ad agency.

Turned down the role of Rohan in Nazar (2005).

Starred in Time Magnetics shelved film directed by Anurag Basu. This was in 2004.

The Legacy of Luna is a book written by Julia Butterfly Hill about her experiences while protecting a tree named Luna. It is based on a true story, written like a diary of two years spent in an ancient redwood. 

Abraham was to do the film adaptation with Deepa Mehta co-starring Rachel Weisz. The film was eventually shelved. This was in 2004.

Starred in Ramesh Sippy's shelved film directed by Sriram Raghavan. It was a love story titled "Happy Birthday" opposite Aishwarya Rai. This was in 2007.

Signed the film Chupke Se but later opted out.

Starred in the shelved movie S. M. Movies' "Aatma" (2003), starring Aryan Vaid (replaced Abraham), Priyanka Chopra, Shamita Shetty, with music by Sanjeev Darshan, produced by Mahendra Dhariwal, and directed by J. D. Chakravarthy.

Was offered Silsilay but rejected the role. Ashmit Patel later signed it.

Offered Guru but declined the role. R. Madhavan was then signed.

Rajiv Rai offered Abraham Naseeruddin Shah's role in Asambhav. He refused the role and Rai decided to make it a character role.

Starred in the shelved film "Raftaar - No Way Out" with Amitabh Bachchan and directed by Sriram Raghavan. This was in 2004.

Was replaced by Arjun Rampal in Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd.

Lawrence D'Souza was planning to remake Saajan in 2007. This time it would be set in Kashmir. He planned on signing Abraham, Shahid Kapoor, and Kangana Ranaut. The project fizzled out.

Was to debut in the movie "Musafir Hoon Yaaron" (2002). It starred Jackie Shroff, Abraham, Sushmita Sen, and Isha Khoppikar. It was to be directed by Sanjay F. Gupta and was a remake of U-Turn. 

The film was eventually made, but by another director of the same name "Sanjay Gupta". It was made as "Musafir" in 2004.

In 2013, John Abraham was producing a film titled "Banana" starring Rohit Saraf, directed by Sajid Ali. The film was eventually shelved due to financial reasons.