John Abraham celebrates 15 years of ‘Force’, pay an ode to Nishikant Kamat

Mumbai, Sep 30
Bollywood actor John Abraham is celebrating 15 years of his action film ‘Force’. On Wednesday, the actor took to his Instagram, and shared a throwback picture with the late filmmaker Nishikant Kamat.

He also penned a long note in the caption, as he shared how the director pushed him to deliver his best in the film.

He wrote, “15 years of FORCE. We set out to make an action film where the emotion hit as hard as the action. Force wouldn’t have happened without Nishi. He pushed me, believed in me and gave the film its heart”.

‘Force’ also starred Genelia D'Souza and marked the Hindi debut of Vidyut Jammwal. The story blends police action with a romantic track. John Abraham's physically imposing screen presence became one of the film's defining features, while Vidyut Jammwal made a strong impression as the antagonist Vishnu. The film was the Hindi remake of the 2003 Tamil film ‘Kaakha Kaakha’, directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon.

“I only wish he was here to see where this journey has reached. Miss you Nishi. Hope we make you proud”, he added.

Talking about Nishikant Kamat, he was known for grounded, socially rooted storytelling across Marathi, Hindi and Tamil cinema. He made his directorial debut with the Marathi film ‘Dombivali Fast’, a critically acclaimed drama about an ordinary middle-class man pushed to the edge by corruption and social frustration.

The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi. He subsequently directed Hindi films including ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’, ‘Force’, ‘Drishyam’ and ‘Madaari’. ‘Drishyam’, which starred Ajay Devgn and Tabu, became one of his most commercially successful films and was a Hindi adaptation of the 2013 Malayalam film of the same name.

He also directed ‘Lai Bhaari’, one of Marathi cinema's notable commercial successes. As an actor, he appeared in films including ‘Lai Bhaari’, ‘Rocky Handsome’ and ‘Bhavani Bhavai’. He passed away in August 2020 at the age of 50.