John Abraham, who is currently promoting his upcoming film The Diplomat, recently said that Hindi cinema is not as secular as it used to be as he spoke about propaganda films. John brought up Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files, which was seen as a propaganda film by many but was a huge hit at the box office, and said that it was an effective film and said that he did not wish to judge the film as a piece of propaganda.In a chat with The Hollywood Reporter India, John was asked if cinema was still a “great unifier” and he said, “I don’t think we are as secular as we used to be, even as individuals in cinema.” He then brought up how things are different in Hollywood but in India “it is important to be secular and have that fabric here. I feel we are walking a very tight rope now. Are we making films that are propaganda films? I don’t know.”He then continued to speak about propaganda films and brought up 2022’s The Kashmir Files. “I mean, we are making films that are effective. So someone says a particular film like The Kashmir Files or one of those films is a propaganda film… You know as a normal consumer of cinema, it was effective. The story hit you. I am not here to judge whether that was a propaganda film or not, I am a consumer who is consuming cinema. Is it hitting me in the right place, is it affecting me? It is. And for me, the credit goes to the director there, as simple as that,” he said.ALSO READ | Mrs: Sanya Malhotra is Bollywood’s posterchild for smash-the-patriarchy cinema, and her Neglected Housewife trilogy is one for the agesIn the same chat, John also spoke about congratulating Vicky Kaushal for his latest hit Chhaava. He said that people in the film industry find “sadistic pleasure” when a film flops and he is one of those who likes to celebrate everyone’s successes. “I am probably one of the few but I celebrate when any film does well. We have a tendency of writing obituaries and writing people off and within the industry saying ‘Voh pit gayi, pit gayi (It flopped)’. There’s a sadistic pleasure,” he said.He then shared that he messaged Vicky and producer Dinesh Vijan after the success of Chhaava. “In fact, the last film that’s doing well is Chhaava and I messaged Vicky. I was so happy for him. I messaged Dinoo because I am so happy that the film is doing well because they are getting people back to the halls and I think we must celebrate these people, we must thank these people. So I am very grateful that you have people like this in the industry who are trying to make a change and trying to do good cinema. I wish and I hope that I could be one of them,” he said.John-starrer The Diplomat releases in cinemas on March 14.Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:John Abraham