NEW DELHI: Known for his well-proportioned figure, Bollywood's quintessential poster boy John Abraham was forced to sport a leaner frame to get into the skin of his character of a special agent against gangsters in Viacom Motion Pictures, JA Entertainment, and Rising Sun Film's political thriller, Madras Cafe.

The director Shoojit Sircar wanted the actor to sport a body which was more real and naturally lean as opposed to a bulked-up body, and so John adopted a special diet and fitness routine to look the part.

Says Sircar, "Yes, audiences will see a leaner John Abraham since I did not want him to particularly stand out in a crowd and he needed to look like one of them; hats off to his dedication, since he worked really hard on his physique for the film."

Talking about the warm equation he shares with his film's lead, the director added, "John and I are good friends…We have similar vision when it comes to films and are planning a few more together - We do not interfere in each other's space and enjoy working together".

Says producer and actor John Abraham, "Madras Café has been my dream project and we have been in discussions for years over the subject - We have worked extremely hard on the film and are satisfied with the outcome - What I can assure you is audiences will be talking about the film even after they've stepped out of the theater... it is a high-on-content, thought provoking film".

The film is scheduled to release 23 August and also stars Nargis Fakhri, Prosenjt Chatterjee, and Rashi Khanna. The film is political spy thriller set against backdrop of the Sri Lankan Civil War of the 1990s.