FILM INTERVIEW: EMRAAN HASHMI - PART 2

 

Neha Sarin-Malhotra: When you started, was becoming an actor ever on your agenda?

 

Emraan Hashmi: Becoming an actor was a calling I finally realized when I came closer to the industry. I have always loved watching movies but didn’t really think, while I was studying and growing up, that acting would become my career. In fact, I did my first movie, Footpath, as a summer job. Ultimately, things fell into place, and one movie lead to another. And here I am now--an actor!

 

NSM: You started your career with Footpath. How did it happen?

 

EH: Footpath was the summer job that I was offered by my uncle, Mr. Mahesh Bhatt. I took it up because I have always liked to do different things. And movies definitely did attract me quite a bit.

 

NSM: What are the three things you have learned in the industry so far?

 

EH: I have, first of all, learned how to act here. The basics are something I learned after joining this industry. I also learned how to choose the right projects, and trust me, that is an art every actor has to learn after a string of bad choices.

 

NSM: How do you mange to stay clear of link-ups in this industry?

 

EH: I guess because I always like to draw my lines really well. I like to work in a very professional manner, and I am a very family-oriented man. I know my limits really well. I don’t go out partying crazy and have a very close set of friends who I hang out with. So I guess this is the reason why I have been spared of this whole link-up business.

 

NSM: What made you do a serious film like Once Upon a Time in Mumbai?

 

EH: I chose this movie because I wanted to do something different, and this movie had a strong storyline. I liked how the

character that I was to play was developed. I have always liked to play the negative characters that are well-developed and don’t just have shades of grey. They have all sorts of emotions, but just a little bit of extra grey.

 

NSM: Dil To Baccha Hai Ji is your second film with Ajay Devgan. How was your experience working with a fine actor like him?

 

EH: You are absolutely right--he is a very fine actor. It was a great experience working with him in OUATIM. Even though he is a senior, he is a very down-to-earth person. He never threw his weight around. I got to learn a lot from him during both movies. What is fun is the fact that, in OUATIM, he is teaching me professional tricks, and in DTBHJ, I am teaching him love tricks…on

reel, I mean. He is a great co-star to work with.

 

NSM: You started your career with some negative roles...and most of your characters have a shade of grey. Have such roles been a deliberate choice?

 

EH: I have liked to choose roles that are more close to reality than the others. Invariably I have ended up choosing the negative roles because every person has some good and some bad in him. It is the person’s choice to choose what they want to expose. All the characters that I have played have a shade of grey and also have other shades of emotions that make him human. For example, my character in OUATIM as Shoaib is an ambitious young man who will go to any extent to get success and ultimately becomes a don by killing the man who taught him the tricks of the trade. But at the same time, he is the man who is in love and wants to also do all this not just for him, but also for the woman he loves.

 

NSM: Your claim to fame was murder. Did you anticipate that the movie would be such a rage?

 

EH: When I had signed on the movie, I knew that the movie would have some impact on people, but I had not anticipated the kind of reaction and applause the movie would get. I knew that I had made a right choice with this movie, but just didn’t know how much people would like this movie. The response was incredible and was definitely a moral booster.

 

NSM: You haven't really tried your hand at comedy. Do you plan to try it?

 

EH: I have tried my hand at comedy with Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji for the first time. It was a great experience. And Madhur is a brilliant filmmaker, working with whom was a pure delight.

 

NSM: Tell us about your role in 

Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji...

 

EH: I am playing Abhay Suri in this movie. Abhay is a gym trainer and a Casanova. He only believes in money and sex till he falls in love with Nikki, a character played by Shruti Hassan. This is the first time you will see me not doing what I have done in the past.

 

NSM: How often do you travel to the United States? What's your all-time favorite destination here?

 

EH: The US of A is too far off, man! Jokes apart… I have such a busy schedule that I only get to travel either when I am shooting or when I am on a holiday. And for holidays, I only like to go to quiet places. Maldives is one of my favorite get-away destinations. I had gone there last time.

 

NSM: Who are your favorite hollywood actors and directors?

 

EH: I am an avid action movie-watcher. But having said that, I really like Leonardo DiCaprio and Charlize Theron as actors, and I love the way James Cameron directs his movies.

 

NSM: You have been nominated for various awards. How did that feel?

 

EH: It feels great to be acknowledged for my work by the industry. It is motivating, but for me, my award is what the audience gives me when they give me a nod for my work after watching my movies.