Producer Reveals Dhak Dhak Has John Abraham Connection, Says 'Dhoom Series…' | Exclusive

On Monday (October 9), John Abraham took to social media and shared a note of appreciation for the team of Dhak Dhak for making a film that is about ‘celebrating life’ and lauded its producers Taapsee Pannu and Pranjal Khandhdiya for being ‘brave’. Known to be extremely passionate about motorbikes, John added, “A film like this is so special. It’s high time that we saw a lot more women lead their own lives. I wish women go out there and expel the notion that women can’t ride (sic).” For the unversed, Dhak Dhak revolves around four women who take a motorbike ride from New Delhi to Khardung La and end up discovering themselves through the course of the journey.

In an exclusive chat with News18, Pranjal expresses his joy and thanks John for his support for a ‘non star led film’. Talking about how the script took him back to Dhoom (2004) where John played the anti-hero, Pranjal says, “When I got the script, the first visuals in my mind was from Dhoom. We’ve all watched the Dhoom series and the iconic John Abraham riding a Hayabusa or a Ducati and that’s the first image that comes to our mind when we talk about bikes.”

A post shared by John Abraham (@thejohnabraham)

Revisiting the actor’s reaction after watching the trailer of Dhak Dhak, Pranjal shares, “The one thing we were very sure of was that we weren’t making a biker chick flick. Our focus was ordinary women taking up riding and going on an extraordinary journey and that’s what also appealed to John when he watched the trailer. He couldn’t stop himself from writing an appreciation note for us. He genuinely appreciated the trailer and he’s looking forward to watching the film too. In fact, he called each actor personally and congratulated them.”

Referring to John as his ‘idol’, the producer adds, “He’s very happy that we’ve finally made a film with women riding bikes, not just on city roads but all the way up till Khardung La. A shout out from the man you’ve idolised means a lot. He’s the original bike fanatic and the whole nation knows about that.”

Dhak Dhak marks Taapsee and Pranjal’s big-screen production debut under the banner of Outsider Films. Quiz him about his equation with the Thappad and Haseen Dillruba star and he says, “Our association started back in 2018 when I was with Sony Pictures Networks and had offered her to play the female lead in Soorma. That professional association turned into friendship and that turned into a business partnership.”

He continues, “Between the two of us, there’s no imbalance in terms of the fact that one is a star and the other is a producer. There’s always a sense of ease when you’re friends first and then business partners. Both of us can speak our minds and fight it out and express ourselves openly and freely. This part of our equation is very important for us and that’s how we would like it to be.”

Dhak Dhak features Ratna Pathak Shah, Dia Mirza Rekhi, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanjana Sanghi, and is all set for a release on October 13.