Happy Birthday, John Abraham. Handsome @46

John Abraham has come a long way from his days on the ramp as a fashion model to the actor which he is today. This year, John featured in Parmanu: The Story Of Pokhran and Satyameva Jayate. His upcoming projects are Romeo Akbar Walter and Batla House.

As he turns 46, here's a look at the actor's journey so far in pictures.

John Abraham was born in Mumbai on December 17, 1972, to a Malayali father and a Parsi mother. John's Parsi name is Farhan. He and younger brother Alan went to the Bombay Scottish School in Mumbai.

John began his career with an appearance in a music video for Punjabi singer Jazzy B. He then joined a PR agency which eventually closed, after which he worked as a media planner. In 1991, his modelling career took off when he won the Gladrags Manhunt Contest and went on to become the first runner-up at the Manhunt International in Philippines.
John began his career with an appearance in a music video for Punjabi singer Jazzy B. He then joined a PR agency which eventually closed, after which he worked as a media planner. In 1991, his modelling career took off when he won the Gladrags Manhunt Contest and went on to become the first runner-up at the Manhunt International in Philippines.
After his win, John made it big in the modelling circuit. He was signed up by Carrie Models in Singapore and also worked in Hong Kong, London and New York. He appeared in music videos for singers Pankaj Udhas, Hans Raj Hans and Babul Supriyo.

In between his modelling assignments, he took acting classes from Kishore Namit Kapoor.

In 2003, John got his first Bollywood break. He made his debut with Jism, opposite Bipasha Basu. The film was moderately successful but John's performance garnered critical praise.
Jism and Saaya were followed by a number of flops, including Aetbaar, featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Pooja Bhatt's Paap and Ahmed Khan's Lakeer.
In 2004, John played a negative role in Yash Raj Films' Dhoom. The film was a huge commercial success and emerged as one of the highest grossers of that year.

The next year brought him to the SRK-Karan Johar bandwagon with a role in the supernatural thriller Kaal, which did not do well at the box office.

The same year, he did Garam Masala with Akshay Kumar, which was a box office hit.
In 2005, John's career received a major boost when he was announced as critically-acclaimed director Deepa Mehta's unlikely choice for the male lead in the film Water, dealing with the plight of widows in British-era India.

John surprised naysayers with his performance and the movie was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.
John also appeared in films like Zinda and Taxi No 9211, which pitted him against Bollywood veteran Nana Patekar.

In Baabul, John worked with actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Hema Malini and Rani Mukerji.

His association with director Kabir Khan began in 2006 with the movie Kabul Express. The movie, which also featured Arshad Warsi, received a lot of critical acclaim.
Nikhil Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq was John's first release in 2007. It tanked at the box office but made its presence felt abroad.
In 2008, John made up a complicated triangle with Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra in Karan Johar's Dostana. John-Abhishek's jodi quickly scaled up the charts.
Continuing his association with Kabir Khan, John's first release of 2009 was another much-awaited production by Yash Raj Films New York. The movie was a critical and commercial success and John's performance was singled out for praise.

Between 2010 and 2011, John featured in several films like Aashayein, Jhootha Hi Sahi, Force and Desi Boyz, which failed to impress the audience.
2012 turned out to be a good year for the actor as he not only had a hit with Housefull 2 but also with his first production venture Vicky Donor, which was critically-acclaimed and a commercial success at the box office.
In 2013, John played the antagonist in Race 2, the first Rs 100 crore movie of the year. The action film also featured Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Jacqueline Fernandez.

I, Me Aur Main might have failed to impress the audience but Shootout At Wadala was declared a huge hit at the box office.
John's Madras Cafe (2014) was successful in impressing most of the critics.
In 2015, John featured in Anees Bazmee's Welcome Back, co-starring Shruti Haasan, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Naseeruddin Shah and Paresh Rawal.
Next year, he starred in Force 2, opposite Sonakshi Sinha.

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In 2016, John was seen in Rohit Dhawan's Dishoom, which also featured Varun Dhawan and Jacqueline Fernandez. Rocky Handsome also released in the same year.

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In January 2014, John married investment banker Priya Runchal in a private ceremony. John reportedly began dating Priya in 2010 and has rarely spoken about her in public.
Besides films, John takes a keen interest in sports. He is also committed to a number of social causes.

In 2010, he won NDTV's Greenest Celebrity Award.
This year he was seen in Parmanu: The Story Of Pokhran and Satyameva Jayate while his upcoming projects are Romeo Akbar Walter and Batla House.
Here's wishing John Abraham a very happy birthday and a great year ahead.