Emraan Hashmi on foraying into the web with Shah Rukh Khan-backed spy thriller, Bard Of Blood
MID-DAY (August 22, 2019)

Given his experimental streak, it was only a matter of time before Emraan Hashmi would dive into the digital world. Almost a year after he announced his first collaboration with Netflix, the actor is ready with Bard Of Blood, a web series based on Bilal Siddiqi's book by the same name. The spy thriller also has the distinction of being the first original developed by Shah Rukh Khan's stable, Red Chillies Entertainment, for the streaming giant. mid-day was privy to the first look of the Ribhu Dasgupta-directed series, the trailer of which drops online today.

"You will first spot Kabir Anand in Mumbai as a literature professor, teaching Shakespeare in college. He is then reluctantly pulled into the battlefield because of a certain situation," begins Hashmi of his character, a former spy who has swapped guns and a gritty life for a peaceful existence as a professor in the remote mountains of Panchgani. However, a call from the PMO thrusts him back to the unforgiving terrain of Balochistan where he has to rescue four Indian Intelligence Wing (IIW) officers who have been captured. The actor adds that his character's troubled backstory adds to the layered narrative, that also features Sobhita Dhulipala, Kirti Kulhari and Vineet Kumar Singh in pivotal roles.

No subject has been off-limits for Hashmi whose eclectic filmography makes room for a middle-of-the-road film Shanghai (2012) as well as a mainstream and commercial fare like the Raaz series. The actor admits that it is his creative pursuit that has made him explore the OTT platform. "I've always believed that in movies, because of the very nature of the business, there are a few stereotypes that one has to abide by. That is not the case here. One can try out nice and experimental ideas with a platform like this. I probably consume more than 80 to 90 per cent of my media through Netflix."