John Abraham has expressed his disappointment over the direct-to-OTT release of his long-delayed film ‘Tehran’, which is now set to premiere on ZEE5 after being held back since 2023.
Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, the actor admitted, “It’s very disheartening. I’m not going to mince my words on it, but it breaks your heart, especially for an actor who always wants to be seen on the big screen. But we all made a very informed decision on that. And the decision was that because of the conflicts and controversies that are happening around internationally.”
The film, which features significant references to Iran and Israel, faced reluctance from cinema chains due to its sensitive geopolitical context. “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,” John explained.
Abraham credited ZEE5 for stepping in to give the film a home. “Zee5 has been gracious and told us they would be our platform. But it also breaks your heart as an actor who only wants to be seen on the big screen,” he noted.
Describing ‘Tehran’ as more of a foreign film, he added, “When you will see the film, you will understand that why it will not resonate with a larger audience. It has got a lot of Farsi in it and a lot of Hebrew in it. It’s only 1 hour and 50 minutes long. It’s got a lot of foreign language in it.”
Explaining the authenticity behind the language use, he said, “The film is called Tehran and once you enter Tehran, you are not going to be speaking in Hindi… Having said all of it, it’s finally coming out.”
‘Tehran’ will arrive on the streaming platform on August 14.