‘Proved everyone wrong’: John Abraham opens up, says expectations were zero, OTT platforms ‘rejected’ ‘The Diplomat’

John Abraham, the actor in The Diplomat, revealed that the political thriller film faced rejections from several OTT platforms; however, the riveting narrative has “proved the studio wrong”. Citing audience response, the 52-year-old actor told Pinkvilla in an interview that the movie surprised everyone and surpassed the expectations of others.

The Diplomat was released on Holi, March 14, after successive delays at a time when Vicky Kaushal’s Chhaava was dominating the box office. John said people had zero expectations from the film. “The loss of faith happens from the studio. When a studio sees a film, it goes and does a round of OTTs because a studio may want to mitigate the risk by sending it to an OTT channel. Some OTT channels have refused The Diplomat because they didn’t find it great. They didn’t find it good...They rejected the film; they threw it out.”

He further noted that The Diplomat proved everyone wrong. “In the case of The Diplomat, we have proved the studio wrong, the OTTs wrong, and everyone wrong. The best thing about The Diplomat...is expectations of everyone were zero. So, from zero, when you don't go to a two-three, but you go straight to a 10, people are like, ‘Oh, wow, this is crazy'. I've people coming and telling me, 'Does this studio know that they have got the best film in the last 10 years under their belt?'. That's a victory for me,” the Bollywood actor noted.

Suggesting that the film received positive audience feedback, John Abraham claimed that many people told him that it was worthy of a National Film Award. “This is the reaction after they walk out. The biggest reward I get is when people say, ‘We clapped at the end of it.’ That’s so beautiful, and there is no bigger reward than that,” he added.

All about The Diplomat

John's action-packed patriotic drama minted ₹4 crore net in India on its opening day, according to industry tracker Sacnilk and in the first week earned ₹19.10 crore. Directed by Shivam Nair, The Diplomat features Sadia Khateeb, Kumud Mishra, Sharib Hashmi, Amitoj Mann, Jagjeet Sandhu, Bhawani Muzamil, and Vidhatri Bandi in key roles alongside the lead actor.

The patriotic drama is produced by John's JA Entertainment in collaboration with T-Series, Vipul D Shah, Ashwin Varde, Rajesh Bahl of Wakaoo Films, Sameer Dixit and Jatish Varma of Fortune Pictures and Rakesh Dang of Seeta Films. The action-thriller based on the real-life story of Indian national Uzma Ahmad, played by Sadia Khateeb, explores themes of diplomacy, international relations, and personal conflicts.