When John's reel life bore uncanny resemblance to real!

Mumbai, March 28 (IANS) In real life, John Abraham escaped a 15-day jail term in a rash driving case after getting bail, but he ended up being bundled into a dingy cell for his role in "Shootout At Wadala" and apparently the whole experience was disturbing for the actor.

John was taken into police custody March 9 in a six-year-old rash driving case, but within hours got relief when the Bombay High Court granted him bail. He was in police custody after a sessions court dismissed his plea against the 15-day imprisonment awarded to him in the case of rash driving here in 2006 in which two men were injured Abraham was asked to deposit Rs.20,000 to secure bail.

The actor faced the camera for Sanjay Gupta's "Shootout At Wadala" the morning after bail, as a non-comprehending convict who arrives at the Yerwada prison and is thrown into tiny dingy cell with 10-12 other prisons.

Says a source, "John was to enter the cell and stand in a corner in a numbed state. After the shot John said, 'Is this really happening?'"

Gupta said: "...it was the first day of his shooting. I wasn't sure John would be able to go through it, since he had to play a character who goes into jail not knowing what exactly his crime is. Yeah, if John had been denied bail, he'd have been wearing exactly the same uniform and probably going into prison like his character."

"It was pretty scary and I was seriously wondering how John would go through it," added the director.

Gupta shot the Yerwada Jail sequences at a children's remand home.

"I knew exactly what John was going though. No one who has not been through the ordeal would know what it feels like. It's like the car crash I suffered in 2002. No one can understand the pain. I rushed to meet John at the court. He was being treated like any common convict until the bail was accepted. Then suddenly he became John The Star to all the cops around. It was....surreal," said the director.