By Subhash K. Jha, IANS

Bollywood's latest pinup boy John Abraham, who has brought out a calendar of his own images for 2007, denies that he is making a conscious effort to market a "cool image".

"Let me state once and for all, I've done nothing to consciously project a cool image. Whether it's the motorbikes or brand endorsements, I do what comes naturally to me," John told IANS.

"I feel there's an overt attempt to portray oneself as cool in our industry. But to try to be cool is very un-cool. If there's a cool-quotient to your personality, it will show up without your trying," he added.

John said the calendar was a no-profit venture.

"Whether it's my own brand of clothes or me serving as a brand ambassador for a mo-bike, I guess I've been forging my own style of self-projection. The calendar is an idea that, to my knowledge, hasn't been done by any other actor. It'll contain only my images. Does that seem slightly narcissistic?

"It is actually nothing more than a humble exercise in public relations. The calendar with my pictures shot by Subi Samuel will be sent to people whom I know and would like to reach out to at the beginning of the year. It's a no-profit venture," stressed John.

Does John belong to the cool-school?

"When I was doing an endorsement for my clothesline, someone said, 'cool is John Abraham'. It's interesting. But they would look at the clothes and say, 'this is very John Abraham'. I felt flattered. When you get branded with a certain image that defines your cool-quotient, I think it's very cool."

To John cool is..."the movies that you do, the clothes you wear or not wear and the company you keep".

John is good at both the dressed and undressed variety of cool. "Good, na? Because sometimes you may not get the proper designer! Might as well be prepared to make do without the right clothes," he quipped.