'Expectations Were Zero But...': John Abraham Says OTT Platforms Rejected ‘The Diplomat’

John Abraham disclosed that several OTT platforms rejected his latest film, 'The Diplomat', due to lack of faith in its potential.

John Abraham's newest film, 'The Diplomat', is based on true events.

Source : Screengrab from YouTube

New Delhi: In a recent interview, Bollywood actor John Abraham discussed the making of his film The Diplomat, stating that the idea was rejected by several OTT platforms until it finally found its audience. John said that the film's studio had low expectations, which caused it to be turned down by many streaming companies. On the other hand, he thinks that the film's greatest strength was that it subverted expectations.

John said in an interview with Pinkvilla that OTT services first turned down The Diplomat due to quality concerns. “The loss of faith happens from the studio. So when a studio sees a film when it goes and does a round of OTTs because a studio may want to mitigate the risk by sending it to an OTT channel when 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 shared. 

John acknowledged that the studio lost trust in the project due to the rejection, but he and director Shivam Nair believed in the proposal. He said, “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.”

John also said that people have been approaching him to tell him how surprised they are by the film's quality. He added, “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 ten years under their belt?'. That's a victory for me.”

About 'The Diplomat'

In 'The Diplomat', John Abraham plays JP Singh, India's Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan, which is based on true events. John Abraham, Sadia Khateeb, Prapti Shukla, Jagjeet Sandhu, Ashwath Bhatt, Sharib Hashmi and Kumud Mishra are among the notable actors in the upcoming political thriller ‘The Diplomat’, which is set to be released in cinemas on March 14, 2025.