'Apolitical' John Abraham on doing political thriller film Tehran: 'Take the risk, have a voice'
Tehran is a geopolitical action-thriller that is all set to land on ZEE5 (OTTplay Premium) on August 14. Recently, John Abraham shared what made him say yes to the political theme-based film.
Last Updated: 05.03 PM, Aug 10, 2025
John Abraham's Tehran has been garnering attention since the makers announced that the film will have a direct OTT release on August 14 on ZEE5 (OTTplay Premium). Fans, along with John, expressed their disappointment over the film skipping theatrical release, but the actor also expressed his gratitude to ZEE5 and said that the film would at least be released. Tehran also deals with a political theme, and in a new interview, John opened up about himself being apolitical but doing films with a political background like Madras Cafe, The Diplomat, and more.
John Abraham on doing political dramas
In an interview with India Today, John Abraham revealed that he is apolitical, but he is aware of political news around the world. Although he is apolitical, the actor has done politically based films like Madras Cafe and The Diplomat.
Reacting to it, John said, "For example, Madras Cafe, I have always said this that when I was young, I felt a drop of water on my face and opened my eyes and saw my mom drawing the curtains. I asked her what happened and she said, "Rajiv Gandhi was killed last night," and when I saw the images and white kurtas and all, it impacted me somewhere and I did not understand why my family was crying and mourning over the loss of Rajiv Gandhi."
Following this, he said that Shoojit Sircar has made a beautiful film, Madras Cafe, and it was the first film that he was going to make in his production, and Vicky Donor happened in the midst of that.
He said that with Tehran, he knew what he was getting into with his eyes open and then added, "My management said, 'the higher the risk, the greater the profit. Take the risk, get a voice. Have a voice. Speak about what you wanna speak and be responsible."
John Abraham talks about censorship
In the same interview, John Abraham also opened up about censorship and addressed the hurdles faced in getting his film.
Abraham expressed gratitude to the Ministry of External Affairs for allowing Tehran to be shown and added, "I don't think this film (Tehran) would have passed to be shown in theatres, to be very honest. I'm grateful to the Ministry of External Affairs." His comments highlight the bureaucratic processes that can affect a film's distribution.
When asked whether he would prefer no censor board at all, or minimal censorship, the actor said that censorship is necessary, but the way it is being supervised could be a big question mark.
Meanwhile, Tehran stars John Abraham as ACP Rajiv Kumar, Manushi Chhillar as S.I. Divya Rana and Neeru Bajwa as Sheilaja. Watch Tehran on ZEE5 (OTTplay Premium) from August 14.
FAQs
Q: Where can I watch John Abraham's Tehran?
A: Tehran, the geopolitical action thriller starring John Abraham, is slated for a digital release on ZEE5 (OTTplay Premium). It will be released on August 14, 2025.
Q: Is Tehran a movie or a series?
A: John Abraham's Tehran is a movie based on real-life incidents.
Q: Why is the Tehran movie not released?
A: Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, John Abraham said that it faced a delay because of the conflicts and controversies that are happening internationally. The actor added, “Theatres were a little wary of picking up a film that had Iran and Israel in it. We had a choice of either showing the film somewhere or not showing it at all.”