John Abraham, Anil Kapoor and Tusshar Kapoor answer queries at the news meet to promote their new film Shootout at Wadala on Thursday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

The dialogue will be as sizzling as the action sequences and the item numbers in Shootout at Wadala said John Abraham while promoting his new film in Patna on Thursday.

“Sharir mein doso chhai haddi, sanvidhan mein solaso sattar kanoon; haddi se lekar kanoon sab todta hoon (There are 206 bones in the body and 1,670 laws in the Constitution; from bones to laws, I break everything,” said John, who plays real-life gangster Manya Surve in the action film slated for release on May 1.

Produced by Ekta Kapoor and directed by Sanjay Gupta, the crime thriller based loosely on Hussain Zaidi’s Dongri to Dubai revolves around the shootout that killed Surve — once a rival of iconic gangster and terrorist Dawood Ibrahim — on November 1, 1982. It is often considered to be the first encounter killing in Mumbai.

In town to promote the film on Thursday, John had a tough time giving a slip to his fans who gathered at the airport to greet him.

His plane from Mumbai, in which Wadala co-actor Anil Kapoor also came, landed in Patna at 1.35pm. But a 200-strong crowd had gathered outside to greet them.

Sameer Singh was waiting to get a picture of the stars on his cellphone. “I’m a great John Abraham fan. I’ve come from Danapur to take his picture on my cellphone.”

But the Class X student of Kendriya Vidyalaya did not get his wish. As soon as the stars came out, the contingent of around 100 policemen and 20 bouncers escorted them to the waiting SUVs and escorted them to Maurya.

At the hotel, too, John’s fans were eagerly waiting. As soon as they saw John’s SUV arrive, they started to wave and cry out his name. John got out at the entrance of the hotel and waved back. Donning an off white T-shirt with a grey shirt on top and blue jeans, he looked quite dapper.

Anil Kapoor, who had some other appointment, was not with him. Neither was Tusshar Kapoor, who arrived at 2.40pm in a later flight.

A source in the hotel said John had daal, roti and mixed vegetables for lunch.

The three actors gather to answer queries from journalists at 4.20pm. While they shied away from speculating on who the next Prime Minister would be, John was all praises for the state and chief minister Nitish Kumar.

The venue was initially supposed to be Cinepolis — the multiplex at P&M Mall. But the venue had to be changed after concerns expressed by some officials at the shopping mall.

Asked what impression he had of Bihar, he told The Telegraph: “I have a very positive image of the state. Chief minister Nitish Kumar is not just CM; he is also a chief executive officer. Bihar is getting richer day-by-day and progressing immensely. I always hear good things about the state and the government.”

He was, however, unwilling to answer any question about Bipasha Basu. “It would be better if you ask me about the film instead,” said John.

This was not his first visit to Patna.

“I had come to Bihar in 2003 or 2004 to visit my friend Sunil Kumar. But it was a personal visit,” said John.

For Anil Kapoor, who plays ACP Afaque Baghraan in the film, this was his first time in the state.

“I always wanted to come to Bihar,” said the veteran actor adding that Shootout at Wadala would be one of the best films in his career.

Tusshar Kapoor, who essays the role of Sheikh Munir — an associate of Surve, said: “My character is not as educated as John in the film but he knows about how the underworld works.”

He added: “I don’t have any scenes with Anilji in the film. Maybe our characters would interact in Shootout at Wadala 2.” The trailer of the film was screened after the news meet. While John and Anil Kapoor left in the evening, Tusshar went to Mahavir Mandir.