I'll wear my underwear over my pants

John Abraham says his last release No Smoking was a perfect mix of commercial and festival cinema. Though he feels the media was a bit unfair to the film, he has moved on to his next film Goal. Missing from OSO, he claims he was in London when Farah called him up, but now regrets not being a part of it. Not interested in Hollywood and ready to start a romantic comedy with Karan Johar, John talks about how controversies don't bother him and how he has learnt the 'art of being graceful'.

You come across as a very sporty person, so was it high time you did a film based on sports?

I was really waiting for a sports film to come my way. And when it did I wanted it to come out right. Though I haven’t seen the final cut as yet -- the background score is still being mixed -- I think Goal has turned out really well.

But don’t you think sports films are very predictable? The underdog has to win in the end.

Of course it's like any other sports film, standard stuff. But the way the plot flows on screen is what makes this genre exciting. At the same time Goal has lots of fun, romance, emotions. It's an all in one masala film.

So are there any penalty shootouts in the climax?

No. Thank god for that.

What was the toughest part about shooting for this film?

Definitely battling the cold weather. When the ball hits you in that chilly winter it's like hell.

Did you have to train a lot? Being so physically fit you obviously had enough stamina in you.

Oh no. That's a big misconception. I really thought I was very fit and running for one and a half hours won't be that big a deal. But when we started shooting I realised how tough the game was. An average footballer has to run about 12 km a day, which by no means is an easy task.

How many times did you get hurt?

I have lost count. As it is I had shin splits in my leg which was bad enough. Next I was trying a scissor kick and in that freezing cold I fell on my back. But it was good fun. In a game if you fall it's okay, just make sure you don't fall in a romantic scene.