John Abraham didn't sleep for 48 hours, Midday

No sleeping, Johnny boy!
By: Ram Kamal Mukherjee in Midday


Director Anurag Kashyap made Abraham work 48 hours non-stop because he needed him to look tired for a scene in No Smoking


John Abraham might just find a place in the Limca Book Of World Records thanks to his new film, No Smoking. Recently, director Anurag Kashyap made Abraham work for 48 hours non-stop because he wanted the actor to look weary and exhausted for a particular scene. The only way Kashyap could achieve this with the fresh-faced actor was to ensure he overworked him!Curious According to our source, Anurag wanted to shoot a crucial scene and was thinking about ways to get the best shot from John. After brain storming for a while, he came up with the idea of exhausting him. “Everyone in the unit thought this was impossible for an actor to do, but Anurag didn’t want to give up,” says our source. “He went up to John and told him that he needed to finish a couple of scenes within the schedule and it would be great if he could work non-stop. John is an extremely professional actor, so he readily agreed and Anurag started shooting.” The shoot went on for over 24 hours and John was curious to know when Anurag was planning to wind up the shoot. “He was inside the studio for 24 hours and the technicians too were working alongside to get the desired result. John didn’t complain even once,” says the source.


Two days off
Finally, after 48 hours of non-stop shooting, John become really tired and it showed on his face. That’s when Anurag decided to shoot the scene he’d been overworking John for. “Everyone was happy with the result and Anurag gave John two days off after that!”Kashyap admits he was a bit inhuman with John. “I’ve heard all sorts of scary stories where stars refuse to work beyond eight hours, and I was just wondering if John would agree. But he was really sporting. It’s a fact that John stayed awake for 48 hours and looked really tired. He worked really hard for the film and that will come across convincingly on screen,” says Anurag. Produced under the banner Big Screen Entertainment banner and Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures, No Smoking also stars Ayesha Takia, Paresh Rawal, Ranvir Shorey and Sanjay Singh. Vishal Bhardwaj has composed the film’s music with lyrics by Gulzar.