John
never
had
to
work
as
hard
as
he
did
to
get
it
right
for
Abbas
Tyrewala's
1:
800
Love.
A
large
part
of
the
drama
in
both
films
unfolds
through
telephonic
conversations.
And
every
actor
knows
emoting
on
the
phone
is
one
of
the
most
difficult
forms
of
acting.
Says
the
1:
800
Love
director
Abbas
Tyrewala,
“It"s
a
challenge
for
the
most
seasoned
of
actors.
A
lot
of
the
relationship
between
John
and
Pakhi
(John"s
co-star
and
also
the
director"s
wife)
unfolds
on
the
telephone.
It
was
tough.
But
Pakhi
insisted
on
being
on
the
sets
in
London
to
give
cues
even
when
John
alone
was
doing
all
the
telephonic
talk.
That
made
it
far
easier.
She
was
providing
him
the
cues
while
he
delivered
his
lines
on
the
phone."
Abbas
isn"t
sure
yet
how
he"s
going
to
edit
all
the
telephonic
conversation
in
his
film.
But
split
screens
showing
the
man
and
the
woman
talking
to
each
other
from
separate
places
are
out.
“That"s
the
easy
way
out.
I"ll
have
to
find
a
way
to
show
continuity
in
John
and
Pakhi"s
conversations
without
resorting
to
gimmicks.
But
I"ve
to
hand
it
to
John.
He
surrendered
completely
to
the
part
and
he
has
come
out
with
a
performance
that's
completely
unexpected.
Dare
I
say
1:
8
00
Love
is
a
new
beginning
for
John."
Abbas
tries
to
assess
his
wife"s
performance
dispassionately.
“She
was
always
an
actress.
But
she"s
also
my
wife.
So
I
was
very
nervous.
Luckily
Pakhi
has
turned
out
to
be
everything
that
we
expected
her
to
be."
A
lot
has
been
made
out
of
the
fact
that
Pakhi
has
acted
in
a
comedy
Yeh
Kya
Ho
Raha
Hai
earlier.
But
Abbas
is
nonchalant
about
it.
"We
never
hid
the
fact
that
she
acted
as
Punarnava
Mehta
in
Yeh
Ka
Ho
Raha
Hai.
Then
she
went
to
Darjeeling
to
be
school
teacher.
I
got
her
back
and
I
persuaded
her
to
return
to
acting.
She
was
born
to
be
an
actress."
Many
times
while
shooting
1:
800
Love
Abbas
was
stricken
by
deja
vu.
"It
was
like
going
back
to
Jaane
Tu…Ya
Jaane
Na.
The
hero
is
introduced
to
the
audience
on
the
phone
in
both.
Then
when
I
shot
a
scene
in
a
pub
with
John
it
turned
out
exactly
like
a
pub
scene
between
Genelia
and
Ayaaz
Khan
in
Jaane
Tu…
Just
goes
to
prove.
Directors
apparently
keep
making
variations
on
the
same
idea
all
their
career."
The
London
schedule
went
off
without
a
hitch.
“One
of
the
actors
Rohn
was
initially
denied
a
visa.
I
insisted
we
can"t
work
without
him.
Thank
God."