Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; January 13, 2019)

Emraan Hashmi has portrayed varied characters in a career spanning over 15 years, and proved his mettle in films like Awarapan (2007), Jannat (2008), Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai (2010) and Shanghai (2012). And finally, one can see the ‘serial kisser’ tag, which he unapologetically carried for years, wearing off. Known for playing morally ambiguous screen characters and the one to call a spade a spade, Emraan tells BT about his upcoming film Why Cheat India and how he is finally done with kissing on screen. Excerpts…

Your upcoming film, Why Cheat India, revolves around some of the problems plaguing our education system. Tell us about your character in the film...
Rakesh (his character) is not a torchbearer or a vigilante, he wants to make money and be successful. He finds a hack in the education system and goes down that road. He isn’t apologetic about what he does. He wonders why nobody is holding the system responsible for students’ suicides. Lack of seats in universities and the pressure it causes... no one’s addressing that. He feels that at least no one’s dying because of him.

Your wife, Parveen, is a co-producer on the film. Did any alarming personal experience convince you to make this film?
We are busy building colleges, but is knowledge being imparted there? Our education system is all about how much information you can withhold as opposed to sharing practical knowledge, analytical thinking or communication skills.

Education system teaches you two things — how to make a living and how to live. Sadly, our education system for most part teaches you the former and it’s not very good at it either. I don’t want to put my son through the torture that I went through as a child. I hated school and the homework. I used to daydream in class, while some wise teachers talked for eight hours a day. It’s a factory system that cultivates home-grown ‘yes men’. Emphasis is on things that you barely use in day-to-day life. Basic choices were science, maths, and engineering. Right now, arts has gone blazing ahead, but back then, it had no standing. Poetry or dance was looked down upon. Basically, you can’t enjoy what you study. I always found that appalling. Kids need to be kids. You can’t make them competitive by pitting them against each other and labelling them as winners and losers. I felt like a loser when I didn’t score a certain percentage. It affects their morale and self-esteem early on. Why Cheat India is a two-hour film, so we cannot show everything in it, but it does put the spotlight on these long-standing issues. It also emphasises on the scams that are built around the education system. You have to get rid of the age-old system and the middle men who are eating into it.

With socially relevant films like Why Cheat India, are you trying to reinvent your image as a hero?
I don’t see it as a reinvention. I don’t know how people will perceive or accept Rakesh. I did the film, because it’s a fantastic concept that hasn’t been explored in our country. I love taking risks. It’s relatable not just for students and educational faculties who are in denial, but also future parents. On the infrastructure front, though we are a country that’s blazing ahead, we could be going faster. The most important part is educating a child’s mind and if you can’t contribute to that, it’s a dark road ahead.

Lately, you have been working in films which have been a clear deviation from the kind of work that people have seen you doing in the past. Are you trying to keep pace with the changing trends of Hindi cinema?
Hindi cinema has changed in the past three years, but before that, in the kind of films that I did — and I don’t mean to dis them — I didn’t get to play ‘characters’. You get stuck in a box. You can’t step out of it, as the industry sees it as a safe bet. If you are a commercial actor, this is what you will have to do. Agar aapko arty film karni hai, toh aap Shanghai kijiye, which I did. It’s a divided industry. Certain critics understand cerebral cinema and they push for it, but there’s another side that dismisses it. Such films are closest to my sensibilities. Somewhere, I had to bend my sensibilities to cater to my audience and my country. I am not complaining, but it’s far from my world. Now, there is a new dawn. The audience and the industry have woken up. You can’t dole out shit year after year and expect it to work. We have had a couple of massive big-budget debacles last year and that’s because the audience’s intellect was taken for granted. It’s great that people now look forward to good subjects. Why Cheat India is one such topic.

Did you reach a point where you thought, ‘Not anymore! I can’t keep doing what I have been doing’?
I said that the first day I entered this industry (laughs!). I feel that you don’t look for scripts, the scripts find you. At least in the initial stage of your career, there are people who will say, ‘This kind of films work for him, let’s give him that only’. My need to explore myself as an actor along with the risk that producers took to make movies like Jannat, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, Shanghai and Awarapan helped add a different dimension to me. These films are the reason why people feel that I can do a Why Cheat India. I could have done this long ago, but growth and maturity takes time. Ten years ago, good scripts rarely came my way. Ghanchakkar (2013) was ahead of its time. People dismissed it because they didn’t understand the comedy. It is relatively easier for these new-age talented actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rajkummar Rao, Vicky Kaushal and Ayushmann Khurrana, because the scripts have evolved.

Today, do films solely work on content, as opposed to entertainment?
Not just content. Through a documentary, I can reach a few houses, but by bringing in the commercial element, retaining the script’s authenticity and not making it a jingoistic fest, you can reach millions of people. Films can’t bring about a change overnight, but it can get the conversation started.

Looking back, do you feel that films like Raaz Reboot(2016) and Murder (2004) restricted you to a certain image as the bad boy of Bollywood? Did such roles hinder your growth as an actor?
Bollywood is like a dish in which you add various ingredients to add tadka. It follows norms and is formulaic. Everyone has had their share of massy films. Fight hai, paanch gaane daal doh, film chal jayegi. But after a while, it has changed. I am here because of films like Raaz and Murder, but I am not the same guy I was 15 years ago! Lot of things happened after that. Marriage changes you, your child changes you. That change has to reflect in your films, or you stagnate. I wanted to grow as an actor and it was frustrating when it didn’t go my way. Now, I am happy with the roles that I am doing. I choose scripts that make me happy as opposed to what will work.

Almost every actor today has no qualms about kissing on screen, but the serial kisser tag refuses to leave you...
I am done with it. I am letting it go now, because I am just fed up of it. Kissing is fine. I don’t have an issue with kissing on screen, but it’s what happens after that. Everyone puts the spotlight on whether I have a kiss in a film or not. My producers have been guilty of using the kissing scenes for promotions of films, but I feel things are different today. Youngsters are okay with it. Call it a generation gap or anything, but I shut my ears on hearing half the things. It’s a culture shock for me! I fear for my son when he grows up (laughs!).

Have you ever wondered why you never get offered noble, righteous or heroic characters?
I think it’s my face (laughs!). I don’t look like a noble person. I am not saying nobility doesn’t exist in society, but I also feel that it’s a big sham. Anyone who says that they haven’t done anything wrong in their life is a big scam artiste. We all function in grey zones. I hate people who pretend to be saints. I won’t touch them with a barge pole. I can’t stand their holier than thou attitude. I look for a certain reality in films. A man who saves the day, does everything right or is super sweet... a hero like that doesn’t exist.

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; June 16, 2014)

Most of us would assume that after delivering the superhit Aashiqui 2, Ekta Kapoor would have signed Mohit Suri to direct Ek Villain. I was surprised to find out the real story from Mohit.

“I made a film called Awarapan in 2007, whose trailer Ekta saw and liked and she messaged me saying, `We have to work together.' Awarapan had released with Himesh Reshammiya's big hit Aap Kaa Surroor and got crushed and was a declared flop. I genuinely believed in Awarapan and was most heartbroken. I wanted to avoid meeting people and was sitting in my car on the back road of Lokhandwala, depressed. And there I see Ekta Kapoor jogging on the road through my side mirror. I didn't have a driver at that time and was sitting on the driver's seat. Trying to avoid her, I turned my face away because having given a flop, I thought she would want to avoid me. After a flop, you want to hide and duck from everyone and didn't want to make it uncomfortable for her or me. But as luck would have it, a branch falls on her just when she is next to my window. She turned to see who had thrown the branch at her and she looked at me. And she immediately said, `Mohit I saw Awarapan and I loved it. It's such a good film.' I, of course, assumed that she was just trying to be nice to a flop director.

Later on, when I came to know her, I realised that she is not a person who would do that and in reality, she has always just had that faith in me and always remained in touch. Much before Aashiqui 2, she would always tell me that, `I know you are meant for bigger things.' Technically, she signed me for Ek Villain after Crook had flopped.

Throughout the making of Aashiqui 2, there was a time when I was having a casting issue and every single person had actually told me to work with Emraan Hashmi again as he is a musical hero and everybody advised me that taking Emraan would make the brand bigger. But it was only Ekta who despite the fact that she works with and likes Emraan a lot said to me, `I think Aashiqui 2 should be made with new people.
You will come into your own with this film.' And she was right. Actually, to come to think of it Ekta has been the only person in my life who has never lost faith in me ever."

Mustafa Zahid, who sang Zaroorat from Ek Villain, on his reasons for making music and his connection with melodies and originality
Neha Maheshwri Bhagat (BOMBAY TIMES; June 6, 2014)