Happy Birthday, John Abraham: A few lesser known facts about the heartthrob

Model turned actor John Abraham, who made his Bollywood debut in 2003 with ‘Jism’, has secured his place in the industry with his talent. The star, who briefly dated fellow actor Bipasha Basu, is now married to with Priya Runchal, an NRI financial analyst and investment banker from the US.

Here's a quick look at some interesting facts about John Abraham.

Family background
Not many know that the actor has a family with mixed religious and ethnic heritages. John derives his Malayali Syrian Christian roots from his father and his Irani roots from his mother who was from Gujarat.
His Zoroastrian name is ‘Farhan’ but he was baptised with the name ‘John’. His name John Abraham is the reverse of that of his father’s name, ‘Abraham John’.
He has a younger brother Alan Abraham.

Education
John was a student at Bombay Scottish School where he was friends with Hrithik Roshan, Uday Chopra and Abhishek Bacchhan. He completed his graduation from Jai Hind College, University of Mumbai, in Economics and did his Master’s in Business Administration. John is one of the most educated actors in the film industry. He is also a self-proclaimed nerd, who is passionate about technology and gadgets.

Career
John initially aspired to become an architect like his father and brother. He worked in media relations before venturing into modelling and worked in several media companies as a media planner and promotion manager.
John first appeared in the music video of the song 'Surma' by Punjabi singer Jazzy B.
In 1999, he participated in the Gladrags Manhunt Contest and emerged as a winner. Later, John did several commercials and appeared in various music videos.
John undertook an acting course at Kishore Namit Kapoor acting institute and made his debut in Bollywood in 2003 with the hit film ‘Jism’ opposite Bipasha Basu.
He then went on to star in several critically acclaimed films such as ‘Paap’, ‘Dhoom’ among others.

A producer

He has also ventured into production and is the proud owner of John Abraham Entertainment which has produced popular films like ‘Vicky Donor’, ‘Madras Café’ and Marathi film ‘Savita Damodar Paranjpe’.
‘Vicky Donor’ the first film he produced, starring Ayushmaan Khurrana, won the National Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.

Other interests
John is the owner of the Indian Super League football team NorthEast United FC, and co-owner of the American clothing brand Ecko Unlimited in India. His love for sports bikes is also known to one and all.

Fitness enthusiast
A vegetarian, John Abraham is one of the pioneers of bodybuilding in the industry and he often posts his workout videos and photos on social media.

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