John to hike fee after Welcome Back?

'My needs are simple. I don't need that much money,' John Abraham remains modest.

Unlike actors who tend to hike their fees after a hit, John Abraham remains different.

Even after scoring a hit with Welcome Back, the actor has not raised his fee.

"I've never done that," John insists. "I was getting what I thought I deserved before Welcome Back. So why would I expect more now? My price doesn't rise and fall Friday to Friday. We are actors, not vegetables.

"My needs are simple. I don't need that much money. 

"In fact, if given a chance to do something out of the expected, I might lower my price for the sake of uniqueness. Surprising myself and the audience has always been important for me.

"At a time when I was advised to build my commercial equity, I worked in offbeat projects like Water and No Smoking."

Likewise, comedy was a genre that John was not expected to attempt.

"I learnt a lot about comic timing from Akshay (Kumar) during Garam Masala and Desi Boys, and from Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar in Welcome Back. I had worked with Nana (in Taxi No 9211) and Anil (in Shootout At Wadala) before. One of the pleasures of working in Welcome Back was the stellar cast -- Nana, Anil, Dimple (Kapadia), Paresh Rawal... I felt  like I was in acting school," he adds.

John has special words of praise for Anil: "Anil saw Welcome Back to the finish. He treated it like his own production. I've learnt so much from observing him."

Being a producer himself, John understands the need for budgetary discipline. "I don't think my job ends with giving a shot. Seeing the film release is every actor's responsibility," he says.

The actor has produced films with Shoojit Sircar, like Vicky Donor and Madras Cafe. They will be working more projects together in future -- "We have several ideas in mind," John promises.

"He is a nice guy, and we both delivered surprise hits this year. Shoojit's Piku was never expected to be so big. Welcome Back also seems to have gone beyond expectations," he adds.