He might come across as arrogant. Undeniably, there's self-pride, though not necessarily driven by his stardom.He doesn't care how you interpret his body language. Nor does he believe in following norms - he doesn't socialise to get work, is ignorant about competition and irreverent when it comes to his professional choices. Unapologetically real and refreshing, Emraan Hashmi calls a spade a spade. Here's what he had to tell BT about his upcoming film Baadshaho and outgrowing his serial-kisser tag. Excerpts...

You are collaborating with Milan Luthria after more than six years, your last outing together being The Dirty Picture. Previously, you guys had worked together in Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai (OUATIM). Did the fact that you were not cast in that film's sequel ever strain your ties with Milan? Also, did you discuss it before starting off on Baadshaho?
It was exciting to merely come back together. I am detached from my films and roles... you have to be. It's a director's prerogative who he casts in a film. I had enjoyed the first part and didn't even think about the sequel, neither did I bring it up with him. Milan has always given me distinct characters in all his films. He did away with the gangster film stereotypes in OUATIM. In The Dirty Picture, I was this cocky, brash South industry filmmaker, who thinks it's his way or the highway. I love such roles, which once defined the out-of-the-box space and are now considered commercial. There's a thin membrane that separates both the spaces today and Milan treads the path carefully, merging both.

After seeing the dialogue-promos, it looks like Dalia, your character in Baadshaho, is quirky, too...
I have a dialogue that says, 'Iss Dalia mein biryani ka mazaa hai.' So, as much as his name is insipid, he's entertaining. Dalia true sense mein kameena hai - he is flamboyant, devious and thinks like a thief. He's edgy, volatile and borderline paranoid. He's the prophet of doom and also a skirt-chaser, who has the tattoo of a woman on one arm and a gun on the other - that pretty much explains his space.

You have played a womaniser in many films. Have you ever analysed why such roles come to you so often?
I have no idea (smiles), perhaps there's something in my face. Right after my first film, people assumed that I'm good at grey characters. It's a tightrope walk, as such characters pose a risk of tilting to an extent where they don't deserve redemption. I find the typical good characters on screen boring; I don't see a hero's role as the most interesting part to play. I find it clichéd. There is a dark side to all of us and I'm interested in that.

In Bollywood, playing the conventional hero is a must if you want to make it to the top. So, are you saying that you are not part of the rat race?
I am not very proud of it, but I don't watch what my contemporaries are doing. My outlook towards cinema has always been different, with more Western influences. When I see the script, I don't see it as 'Yeh hero hai...' If I had been a product of the Bollywood machinery, I would have gone that way. Thankfully, I'm not. So, what seems out-of-the-box to others seems normal to me.

For close to 15 years, you held onto the tag of a serial kisser in Bollywood. Did you start feeling stifled in that image, eventually? Did that lead to a change in your role choices?
I don't know what exactly a serial kisser is. Years ago, when I was shooting in Mauritius, I bought a T-shirt which had 'Serial Kisser' written on it. Around that time, I had played bold roles in four films in a row. While it was normal for me, it wasn't for a lot of others. People were noticing that I was kissing so many women on screen. And then, when I made a joke out of that tee, it got stretched too far. I've never associated myself with the serial-kisser image. It was blown out of proportion.

But you cannot deny that it became difficult for people to accept you in films like Azhar, where the sex and kissing scenes were not as amplified as, let's say, they were in the Bhatt camp's movies...
We have a prefixed notion of what the audience wants. After one of those many erotica thrillers that got me the serial kisser label, I reached a saturation point and decided to do something different, which drove me to do movies like Awarapan, Jannat, Shanghai, OUATIM and Ghanchakkar. However, all throughout, people either underlined the fact that the raunchy scenes were there, or highlighted their absence. I found the latter amusing. After a point, it was stifling and boring to play up to that perceived image. Today, I don't even think about the tag because I moved on from it 10 years ago. It's lost its punch. So, I don't think that was the reason people thumbed Azhar down. It was made well, but there was a perception that people had of the story and what they saw didn't meet that. Ours wasn't the Azhar they knew.

You may have moved on, but the tag continues to be a part of your image. Your uncle, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, had said on a chat show that people flocked to theatres to see you lock lips...
That trick made sense at one point, but now, the audience wants something new. Personal and professional experiences have changed me, though not many acknowledge it. Today, it is disastrous for any actor to go back to his safety net. The terrain has changed. The last two years have made out-of-the-box the new commercial. These are also scary times because the web and social media are on an over drive and are unforgiving. People are less lenient towards average and mediocre films, which wasn't the case a decade ago. Cinema was the sole source of entertainment then, but now, it has stiff competition from television, games, the web and social media. Earlier, word about a film didn't trickle in for a week at least. Today, a bad review at the noon show can have your night show cancelled.

Do you mean to say that you have really kissed the Murder and Raaz franchises goodbye?
Yes, I have kissed those franchises goodbye, but I thank those films for helping me get this far. I'm now doing what I always wanted to do. If I return to that space now, it will be the undoing of the brand; I will look tentative and disinterested. These franchises need new actors to take them forward.

Today, we are seeing strong acceptance for women-centric cinema, where women play meaty, strong characters. In retrospect, do you feel that some of those franchises did objectify women?
Women were objectified? I was also objectified in those films. It's just the zone you are grappling with. After films like OUATIM, I could have chosen big-budget, hero-driven films, but I opted for The Dirty Picture, which was woman-centric. As an actor, I don't see women as objects; they have always been central to the plot in all my films. Heroines are shining in the films being driven by them today. I am not among those male actors who feel insecure about women-centric films.