John Abraham has a blow-hot blow-cold kind of chemistry with the box office. His start was good but quite often he has seen failures. In fact, he has an equal number of disappointments. But one thing that will strike you as amazing in his context is his drive to take risks. For someone who has always been critiqued for his acting skills, John has always thrived to be 'hatke' in terms of an actor and a producer (Vicky Donor was his debut production) which many A-listers would refrain from. A dark thriller like No Smoking or a social issue based film like Water, the actor never tried to put himself in a box. His chiseled looks and dimpled smile have managed to win him a lot of female following but it's his buff image that has earned him a plethora of male fans who are loyalists.

So on John Beefy Abraham's birthday, we thought of talking about five hits of his that changed things for him in the industry.

Dhoom (2004)

India hadn't a heist thriller so stylishly done for decades since Dhoom arrived. Hunky men, hunkier bikes and some sizzling babes...only the beach was missing in this pacy thriller. John as the mastermind was cool, calculated and determined. That crackling smile of his only added to his vicious mind. Dhoom arrived at a time when a lot of his films bombed at the box office. It revived his career in a big way.

Dostana (2008)

Those yellow trunk that almost gave a peek into John's butt was enough to send the whole nation in a tizzy. John did see some stray hits here and there, but this movie earned him immense accolades, both for his looks and comic timing.

Force (2011)

Although Jism had him in the solo lead and the film was a moderate success, John till then was struggling for a big box office spinner with him in the lead alone. Force, a remake of Surya's Kaka Kaka, did that for him. It also cemented his positioning in the industry as the action hero with a perfect buff body to carry out stunts. Force was one of the big successes of that year and of John's career as well.

Shootout At Wadala (2013)

Gangster movies are always popular in India. Manya Surve thus made John a favourite of many. The movie worked confirming the fact that when it's action, be it raw or stylised, John will ace it.

Satyamev Jayate (2018)

Parmanu had already ascertained his stand in the nationalism movie genre, which is much-in-demand these days. Satyamev Jayate only enhanced it to a great height.

If you are wondering why didn't we take Welcome Back or Housefull 2 for the list which did Rs 100 crore each is because these are multi-starrers. We picked movies that changed the course of his career in some way.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 17, 2020 08:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).