Actor Emraan Hashmi on his journey in Bollywood, and what his son taught him about life
Suman Sharma (TIMES LIFE; March 29, 2020)

Looking back, do you have any regrets?
I’m proud of whatever I have done. I don’t have any regrets. What I’m today is because of certain films. I gained from that kind of cinema. There are many films, which you feel were not made for you or were not made as they should have been made. But that’s a learning process. How will you grow if you do not make mistakes? You have to do justice to whatever comes your way.

Given the competition around, do you feel insecure as an actor?
I don’t feel insecure ever because the industry is a big place. It always welcomes talent. Today, so many new avenues have opened up. All kinds of films are being made. The medium doesn’t matter. What matters is talent. If you have talent, you’ll get opportunities. There’s work for all. In fact, we should learn from the newcomers. They bring in fresh ideas.

What do newcomers have today that you did not possess when you began?
The current generation has got more exposure. What my son, Ayaan, grasps from watching films is much more than what I did as a youngster. He has access to the OTT platforms, YouTube, social media... I was born in the ’80s, when there was only one channel, Doordarshan. We absorbed whatever we could from it. Satellite TV came in later. When youngsters are exposed to so much stimulation, they are bound to create wonders.

Is it frustrating to wait for a good script to come your way?
There’s no frustration as such. You just have to keep on working, putting in efforts to enhance a film. Slowly, you’ll start getting the films to your liking. The more you learn; the more your acting will improve. I never felt frustrated. My films could be hits or flops, the industry always gave me work. I didn’t have to sit at home. Also, I can make the films I want through my production house.

Turning point in your career...
Every film is a turning point. The route is never linear. You can never predict your next Friday. Personally, the birth of my son was a turning point for me.

How have you changed as a person over the years?
As a person, I’m the same as I was 10 years ago. But you develop a world view. You evolve as a human being. My perception has changed towards people, towards films… It’s difficult to put it in words. You change along the course of your profession. You change after marriage, after parenthood. When you experience the death of a close one, you change. Experiences surely change you.

Has the way you look at life also changed after Ayaan’s fight with cancer?
Yes. Earlier, I thought too much about the future. But all that has changed now. Today, I’m satisfied with what I have. I live in today. I experience every moment and try to live it fully. My attitude is to take one day at a time, to behave responsibly and with discipline. Parenthood has taught me responsibility. As teenagers, we lack balance. At 20, I used to run away from responsibility. You turn accountable when you marry, and more so, when you become a parent.

Which of your films does Ayaan enjoy?
He has not seen any of my films. I don’t wish to show them to him. (Laughs) All my films are censored as he’s just 9 years old. Ayaan wants to become an actor. The atmosphere around him is such... but for now, he has to study, enjoy life and experience it. When he turns 20, he will understand things better. Most probably, cinema will be different then. He may even change his mind. But yes, he has to keep a back-up plan ready. Life is unpredictable here. I did not have a back-up plan. That’s a terrifying thought. Thankfully, things turned out good for me.

BT invited Emraan Hashmi to meet students from colleges across Mumbai and discuss the problems plaguing the education system in India
Rachit Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; January 15, 2019)

His upcoming film, Why Cheat India, highlights the trails and travails of the education system in the country. Keeping in line with the theme of the film, Emraan Hashmi, who plays a wily exam paper agent Rakesh Singh, has been engaging in conversations around the problems of students in the country. Recently, when Emraan visited the Bombay Times office, we invited a bunch of enthusiastic college students from campuses across the city to engage in an interesting and constructive debate with the actor. The discussion revolved around the flaws of the education system and the vocation and solutions that we can strive to incorporate in the existing structure. Excerpts from the chat where Emraan partakes in some hard-talk with students.

‘EDUCATION SHOULD NOT BE A COMPETITION’
I am no expert on education, I dropped out of college to become an actor, but I feel examinations and cut-throat competition in rote learning doesn’t value add to a person’s life in any way. I feel doing away with the entire concept of exams, grades and scores should be explored as a solution for the educational system. It’s happening in the West, countries like US are doing away with examinations. We should inculcate a system where we encourage young minds to pursue their passions and interests. Too many parents and students are obsessed about engineering and medicine as fields of vocation. I know Arts is picking up now, but for the longest time, Arts and Commerce have been fields for those who couldn’t get through in science. Not every child is inclined towards maths and science. We’ve turned the education system into a game of winners and losers. That’s not how it’s supposed to be.

‘SOCIAL STRATA SHOULD NOT AFFECT A CHILD’S EDUCATION’
A child’s social and financial status has a large bearing on his educational prospects. There are certain educational institutions that cater only to the elite. The fees at the colleges and schools can be quite intimidating as well. My son Ayaan goes to a decent school and I feel his fees for a single year are a lot. Thank God, I’m an actor and thankfully I have the financial wherewithal to afford that kind of education. But, my point is, access to good education should not be limited by your financial status. The education system in Finland is considered to be one of the best in the world and it’s completely free. There’s no division of the quality of education between the rich and the poor. All kids, regardless of how affluent or how challenged their families are, study together. That will establish a sense of equality in individuals during their formative years and that’s the kind of step that will create positive influence on society in general. I understand that countries in Europe or even the US don’t face the challenges of population and governance that India does. But, we cannot make that as an excuse to not experiment with these ideas. We can take smaller steps and see if a radical idea like free education for all can find its feet and become a country-wide phenomenon.

‘TEACHERS NEED CARE TOO’
I don’t blame the teachers who focus on tuitions and private classes, because the salary of an average teacher can be quite paltry. Teachers are role models for the youth of the country. These people are literally training the future of the entire nation and we gravely undermine their contribution when their salary amounts to peanuts. I know we don’t have great labour laws, but the government and the authorities should ensure that the teachers and the staff, especially at public education institutions are paid well. We’re one of the biggest tax-paying economies of the world and should use our budgets to carve out better educational policies for citizens.

‘PAPER MAFIA BELIEVES THEY’RE INTO SOCIAL SERVICE’
During the prep for my role, I met a lot of people who work in the exam paper mafia. Basically, these people leak papers to students for large sums of money. But they don’t look at themselves as bad guys at all. For them, it’s merely a business opportunity. They’ve spotted a hack in the education system and they’re using it to make money. The way they see it, they’re actually helping the students out. Their logic is — there’s so much pressure with competitive exams and ranks that students are forced to commit suicides. If we’re leaking the paper and helping the student cheat, we’re doing it so he can score decent grades and not end up killing himself. As flawed as that opinion is, the guys who work in the exam paper mafia actually believe that they’re doing social service.

‘BREAK-PROOF FANS FOR SUICIDE ATTEMPTS’
My director Soumik Sen informed me during the shoot that there’s a company in Kota, Rajasthan which offers sturdy ceiling fans that don’t break when a student tries to hang himself / herself from them. Can you imagine that? They’ve turned exam pressures and suicides into a surreal business opportunity. So, in a place like Kota, where there are dozens of colleges and universities and stiff competition amongst students, you have a firm that’s selling break-proof fans to students, assuring them, that at least the fan won’t break during a suicide attempt.

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.

On National Education Day on Sunday, Emraan Hashmi discusses the Indian system, which is the subject of his upcoming film, and the issues it has been grappling with
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 12, 2018)

Describe ‘education’ in five words…
Driver of human and economic development.

What is the difference between education and schooling?
A school is an organised process of learning, it’s about sitting within four walls. Education is way more than schooling, it is broader and deeper. It ought to be more practical and experiential but unfortunately, our system is overly theoretical and loophole-ridden. Outdated syllabi, overcrowded classrooms, limited teaching faculty, focus on learning things by rote, and of course, all the scams, crimes and malpractices perpetrated to help undeserving students clear exams are weighing it down.

What was the one subject you hated in school which has come in handy today?
I disliked accounts but it’s the one subject that comes somewhat handy even today. At least I know the basics! (Laughs) But truth be told, nothing else I learnt in school is of practical use in modern living which is why I’m clear about getting my son an education that will focus at honing his analytical skills and problem-solving abilities.

What is the one thing that your son taught you?
My son is my superhero. Life delivered a knockout blow and he fought it bravely. I was thrown into a zone that I had never imagined finding myself in. Empathy and how to out-stretch oneself is what I learnt the most. At such a young age, I find Ayaan all grown up. The things he says sometimes I don’t hear even from 50-year-olds.

Which was the biggest education scam that shocked you?
Vyapam, it was like watching Game of Thrones. The plot kept getting thicker and just when a character garnering public sympathy came to the forefront, he was bumped off days later under mysterious circumstances. This is only possible when there is a collusion between politicians, government officials, middlemen and business persons. My upcoming film, Cheat India, is not about any particular scam but depicts the corrupt eco-system and the stakeholders involved in commodifying a student.

What is the most common kind of cheating and how can it be stopped?
I have cheated during exams while I was in school and college. We’ve carried chits and wrote information on our hands. But all this is kindergarten stuff in light of all that’s going on today. Every other day one reads about more and more creative ways of cheating. Who can forget that picture that went viral a few years ago: desperate parents, relatives and friends in Bihar climbing walls to provide answers to students appearing for their exam inside. And the hilarious video of a topper from Bihar who pronounced ‘Political Science’ as ‘Prodigal Science’! The reality of the matter is that education in India has turned into a serious business, which is driven by mega bucks. The politician-private sector nexus is murky.

If you ever caught a kid cheating, what would you do?
Obviously, I’ll tell them off, but at the same time, I’m not going to get overly moralistic. Like I said earlier, our education does not stimulate mental faculties but it puts undue pressure on kids to mug text books without really understanding the content. Some parents are unfairly pushy as well and will go to any extent to see their child clear his exam. The child ends up feels victimised and has no choice but to resort to subversive means. Some even commit suicide.

Your favourite teacher in a movie?
Morgan Freeman as principal Joe Clark in Lean On Me. He turned an entire school upside down with his borderline-illegal methods but he was left with no choice. Extreme situations warrant extreme measures. I also loved Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor and Julia Roberts in Mona Lisa Smile. By the way, I hope you don’t think that I’m playing a teacher in my next film.

Do you see hope for the country’s education system?
I don’t want to sound cynical or pessimistic but I think way too much water has flown under the bridge and not much is going to change. Our system needs a radical overhaul which I don’t see happening as there are too many vested interests involved.

So, learn or cheat?
Whatever rocks your boat! (Smiles)

Emraan Hashmi’s innings as a producer is guided by his concerns as a father as he takes on the education system and child kidnappings
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 13, 2018)

Every actor, at a certain age, turns the corner and it seems that this rebellious lover too is getting into a more mature groove now with films like Cheat India and Father’s Day.
(Chuckles) I don’t know if I’d call it maturity because I can still be quite immature at times, but with a certain amount of experience, your concerns and priorities change, as does your outlook of the world and cinema. And this reflects in the films you do. What you did 10 years ago, maybe even five years ago, seems like a been there, done that now and you want to move to something new. With different platforms offering interesting content, the audience too is evolving. You have to keep up with the times if you don’t want to be left behind. I’m lucky these scripts are coming my way.

Would you say the turning point in your journey were films like Raja Natwarlal, Hamari Adhuri Kahani and Raaz Reboot that didn’t work?
I wouldn’t want to take names but I admit I did feel like I was sleepwalking through some films, and the time and effort was not worth all the money in the world. I needed to challenge myself as an actor. Since I’m producing my next two films, it will give me a chance to nurture them from their inception to their fate.

You have been talking about getting into production for a while. One wondered what kind of cinema you’d invest in when you took the plunge.
(Smiles) My sensibilities are very different from the kind of films I’ve chosen to do in the past. When people see me in person, they often find me to be a total mismatch from what they were expecting. A decade ago, films like Cheat India and Father’s Day would have been dismissed as ahead of their time by the industry, but today with the language of cinema changing and the audience too, I can afford to experiment.

I want my films not just to be entertaining, cinematic experiences, I also want the stories to stay with people for days, months, hopefully years. They shouldn’t be like that box of popcorn you toss into the bin as you leave the auditorium.

You’d have been thinking of your son Ayaan’s future when you set up your company...
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. When Ayaan grows up, if he wants to take over the reins, the company is his. And since I’m an actor, my son would be inclined to follow me into the industry. But I don’t want him to limit his options. Sure, I’d be able to guide and protect him here since I know the territory well, but what if he has an acumen for business or wants to become a doctor? The decision has to be his. We destroy our children’s future by imposing our dreams and our fears on them. But our children come from us, not for us and Ayaan doesn’t owe me anything.

There’s also the issue of nepotism…
On the subject all I can say is you can hold your child’s hand, take him to a point, but the journey is his. It’s a double-edged sword. If Ayaan decides to become an actor, he will definitely have an easier access coming from a film family, but there’d be attempts to mould him into becoming his father’s carbon copy and he’d lose his individuality.

Cheat India deals with our education system and personally I don’t think there’s anything encouraging left there.
Yeah, the SSC and HSC paper leaks in Maharashtra and the Vyapam entrance exam, admission and recruitment scam in Madhya Pradesh in 2013 are very disturbing not only because a bunch of rich kids have the money to buy question papers and become merit holders, but they can then also pay their way into jobs which they are not qualified for and that makes all of us very vulnerable. Imagine that the doctor operating on you in a small town has no medical experience? It’s bizzare and scary. Our education system is archaic with text books being updated every five-10 years, the teacher-student ratio skewered because of over-population and the teachers themselves under-qualified for the job at times. Do you know that India’s expenditure pumped into the education system is a measly 4 per cent of the GDP, a major shortfall from the realistic target of 6 per cent and above? Cheat India will touch on all this and other concerns but the vibe is entertaining.

You have a school-going son, how does all this affect you?
I’ve made sure Ayaan is not studying in the same board that I did as it wasn’t very interesting for me to go to school and when that happens, it’s the school’s fault and not the child’s. I’m very happy with my son’s curriculum. It doesn’t encourage rote mugging but develops social skills, a sense of discipline and responsibility and is aimed at all-round development. There’s a suicide happening in our country every hour and the reason for this is that our education system does not equip us with original thinking or give us real-world knowledge. It’s all about grades and fostering a competitive streak in our kids which leads to depression and disillusionment in later years because the kids are lost when looking for a job.

What appealed to you about the story of Suryakant Bhande Patil, the Pune-based civil engineer who’s worked with cops to solve 120 child kidnapping cases for free?
Very few script narrations have left me feeling emotionally charged and satiated like this one. Maybe it was the bond between father and son.

Since the film is called Father’s Day and features two children, will we see Ayaan sharing the screen with you?
I’d love to share the screen with him because I know rather than me, Ayaan will teach me a few things about acting. He’s so spontaneous, expressive, energetic and totally unabashed but I’ll leave the ball in his court. Even if it’s a nine-year-old’s decision, I know it will be the right one because my son knows what he wants. Kids today are very smart.

What’s happening with Captain Nawab, the fim about the Kargil war?
It’s on pause right now, Tony (D’Souza, director) could fill you in on it.

And The Body?
I just finished it. It’s a horror thriller, a space I hadn’t touched for a while because the scripts I was getting were so predictable. But this stays ahead of the audience till the end. Director Jeethu Joseph is a brilliant mind. It has an interesting cast of Vedhika, Shobita (Dhulipala) and Rishi Kapor who plays the detective.

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 5, 2018)

Filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt hosted a luncheon for his extended family at a Bandra restaurant to celebrate daughter Sakshi’s engagement with boyfriend Mazahir. The ceremony coincided with the birth anniversary of his mother Shirin Mohammad Ali as she was close to Sakshi.

“It is the biggest day of my life!” the father of the soon-to-be-bride exulted. “I am so emotional because my Cinderella has found her Prince Charming. They met through a common friend; Mazahir works in the digital space. I am happy that he has nothing to do with the film industry. He comes into the family like a whiff of fresh air. There are so many new things to talk about with him.” Quiz him on the wedding and he says the date hasn’t been finalised yet. “It will be towards the year-end or early next year.”

The four-hour luncheon which went on way past sun-down was attended by Mukesh and wife Nilima, son Vishesh with wife Kanika Parab, brother Mahesh with daughter Pooja, nephew Emraan Hashmi with wife Parveen and son Ayaan. Mukesh’s filmmaker-nephew Mohit Suri was also present but made an exit around 5 pm with actress-wife Udita Goswami. The filmmaker reveals that the engagement was not planned.

“It’s just a happy co-incidence that it coincided with my mother’s birthday. She lived with me till the day she passed away and was very fond of her granddaughter, Sakshi. It was like she wrote the screenplay of her life so her engagement would fall on her birthday,” Mukesh pointed out emotionally.

The actor is co-producing a film inspired by real incidents which is expected to roll in July and is scheduled for a February 2019 release
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 16, 2018)

After announcing his first home production, Captain Nawab, in August 2016, Emraan Hashmi has signed another co-production. The actor will headline Cheat India which takes a look at the startling crimes in the Indian education system that have created a parallel ecosystem infested with greedy harvesters. The film is slated for a February 2019 release and will be directed by Soumik Sen who had earlier made Gulaab Gang with Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla in 2014. The edge-of-the-seat drama kicks off in July, and is inspired by real incidents. Soumik promises it is a film for every Indian student who is under pressure to excel in a competitive environment. After Tumhari Sulu, Bhushan Kumar has joined hands with Atul Kasbekar and Tanuj Garg to produce the film, with Emraan on board as actor-producer. Says Bhushan, “The film will reflect the new-age appetite for compelling content rooted in realism.”

Emraan asserts that the subject has wide appeal because it’s about everyone’s base, the education system in our country. “There will be a lot of revelations that look at the glitches in the system. It’s one of the finest scripts I’ve read in the last 10-15 years. I am thrilled to be essaying what I believe will be a landmark role in my filmography,” he revealed.

Getting nostalgic about his days as a student, the actor shares, “I struggled a lot through school, not particularly academics, because I was a borderline distinction student, getting around 70-75 per cent in almost all subjects. But I wasn’t particularly fond of studies and had to really push myself. Everything that I did was to make my parents happy.”

The actor adds he was even more confused when he went to college about what he should be doing. “A lot of people in our country go through the same confusion because we don’t get any vocational training which is an absolute must to give direction to a student’s life and career. We spend five years working towards a degree while trying to figure out what to do in life,” he grouses, admitting that even though he has a commerce degree, in retrospect he says that he should have taken up Arts. “Nothing I did in college could be applied to my profession. They were the five most confusing years of my life.”

Being a father to seven-year-old Ayaan, Emraan admits that parenting is tricky because everyone has got an opinion on it. “But despite all the advice, you learn along the way and that’s how it is with Ayaan. When enrolling your child in school, you get down to researching what route to take. We zeroed in on a particular school after talking to a lot of other parents and reading about all the options. It’s like a well thought-out road map,” he points out, adding that he is particular about not burdening his child with his own fears or dreams as a lot of parents do.

Speaking about what Ayaan wants to do in life, the actor says he’s given his son complete freedom to make his own choices. “He can be anything he wants and it’s not necessarily acting. He could be a doctor or a pilot or engineer, whatever he wants I’m fine with it. Ayaan is his own person, he has very definite likes and dislikes, and I’m sure he will be clear about his future course of action over the next few years. As parents we are there as his support system,” he smiles.

Co-producing a film is a new experience for Emraan and he believes prep is the most important to the process and will be giving a lot of time to it. “For an actor there’s always the greed to essay a character that tests his skills and this one, I know, will keep me on my toes,” he exults.

Producer Tanuj Garg has the last word. “From Neerja to Tumhari Sulu, the projects we are developing are incredibly diverse, varied in scope, and speak to the elevated tastes of audiences today. Cheat India will entertain and uplift,” he promises.

Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; September 9, 2017)

"I was fortunate that I had the best medical facilities to treat my son, but not everyone has that privilege,” says Emraan Hashmi, who knows how despairing the battle against cancer can be, all too well. His son Ayaan, who was diagnosed with Wilms tumour (a rare cancer that affects kidneys) in early 2014, triumphed in his fight against the deadly disease. Hashmi, since then, has been actively involved in spreading awareness about the Big C. Having penned a book on the subject, the actor has now joined hands with the foundation, 1 Small Step For Cancer, to build an emergency fund for children suffering from cancer.

His son’s journey was an eye-opener for Hashmi — he was shocked on learning the statistics of those succumbing to the disease as they can’t afford treatment. “Four out of 10 children from low-income families suffering from cancer leave their treatment midway in our country, due to lack of funds,” he rues.

Believing that every child afflicted with the disease “should get complete treatment and live a better life”, Hashmi set out to build the emergency fund. The money raised will help children from low-income families to seek treatment at government hospitals. “Our foundation, along with Rotary Club of Mumbai [Queens Necklace], will be looking into the formalities. The emergency fund will help up to 1,000 such children survive cancer. Our aim is to reduce midway abandonment rates, and ensure the child gets complete treatment.”

The endeavour has kicked off on an encouraging note – the actor reveals that within three days, the foundation has collected Rs 15 lakh. “It is heartening to see people supporting our cause. Our goal is to collect Rs 1 crore in a month. We are also planning to rope in different celebrities to help us in the fundraising.”

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 1, 2017)

After his son Ayaan beat cancer following a three-year treatment, Emraan Hashmi has joined hands with an NGO to raise funds amounting to Rs 1.2 crore for government hospitals so those who are ailing can get proper medical care. The campaign, 1 Small Step For Cancer, will kick off on September 6.

A source associated with the campaign points out that the survival rate of children suffering from cancer in India is 30 per cent as opposed to 80 per cent in developed countries. Reasons include lack of awareness, late detection and low income families stopping treatment mid-way. “Emraan will be sharing personal merchandise from his movies along with his watch with lucky donors,” added the source.

The actor is proud to land this opportunity to help children. “In 2014, my son was diagnosed with a rare case of kidney cancer. We were very fortunate to have access to the best treatment and he is perfectly healthy now. This is one small step to ensure that children of low income families too can get access to better and uninterrupted treatment,” he asserted.

Undeterred by past stumbles, actor Emraan Hashmi braves on with a thriller, a war-drama and the hope of turning director one day
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 28, 2017)

MUMBAI MIRROR (March 24, 2017)

Emraan Hashmi jetted off to Goa on Thursday to ring in his 38th birthday (on March 24) with wife Parveen, son Ayaan and a few of his non-filmi friends. The actor has booked a resort at a private beach in North Goa for a three-day sojourn.

“I’m not into grand celebrations, I like to keep it small and intimate,” Emraan said. “I would have loved to go on a longer holiday but I have other commitments so could only spare a few days this time.”

The actor revealed that his son loves beaches and the family usually spends a lot of time by the sea building sand castles. “Spending time with Ayaan is the best birthday gift,” he beamed.

Zinia Sen (BOMBAY TIMES; September 12, 2016)

This Teacher’s Day, Emraan Hashmi opens up about his guru, his school days, and the lessons he learned in life
Upala KBR (DNA; September 5, 2016)


My guru
“I consider (Mahesh) Bhatt saab to be my guru. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here. I have learned many things from him, including taking responsibility for what you do, not taking things for granted, always striving for excellence and truth, and being honest to your craft. I remember when I started my journey as an actor, he had given me a break in Footpath. When I went to his office to discuss the role, he had said, ‘If you are not good, I will throw you out.’ It was from him that I learned not to take my craft for granted.”

School-wise
“I wasn’t a good student at school. But I would get the job done. I’d score 75 per cent in my exams, cramming right before the exams. I just could not see myself as one of those students with my face stuck in a book. I was something of a prankster. And while I had several crushes, the biggest one I had was on my English teacher in Class 5.”

Lessons learned
“Of all the lessons learned —­ personally and professionally — over the years, the biggest one was that as a father, you behave the way you’d want your son to behave. You take up responsibilities that you see right through with love and strength. My son Ayaan, at his age, is impressionable so the most important lessons that he gets is not just from school but what he learns at home, too. I have grown up with the same morals and values and I don’t compromise on them. I have always lived by them and extended that in my professional space, too.”

Rinky Kumar (BOMBAY TIMES; September 4, 2016)

The actor's first production is based on certain real life events with an army backdrop and will be shot in Leh, Ladakh, the Indo-Pak border, Delhi, Hyderabad and London
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 5, 2016)

Emraan Hashmi is turning producer but not with a run-of-the-mill Bollywood-styled love story whose USP would be a couple of kisses, but with an intense true-life drama set against the backdrop of the army. While he is cagey about revealing names and details since he is still scripting the film, Emraan's co-producer and the film's director, Anthony DSouza, confirms the news, saying, "Yes, it is based around certain real events which happened during the Kargil war. We will be shooting in Kashmir, Leh, Ladakh, the Indo-Pak border, Delhi, Hyderabad and London. We start around December-January with the snow portions."

Emraan who agreed to join hands with his Azhar director again after hearing the gist of the story, is extremely excited and waiting to listen to it in detail. "Tony is a good filmmaker, technically sound and given a good story, can do wonders. I think he will handle a subject like this well. He's not rigid and though the final call is his, he is open to suggestions and includes everyone in discussions," he points out.

The 37-year-old actor has been talking about launching his own banner for a while now. "But after the tragedy at home, this took a back seat," he points out, obviously referring to his son Ayaan's battle with big C, now documented in his book, The Kiss of Life: How A Superhero and My Son Defeated Cancer. Then, last October-November, after two traumatic years, just when conversations revolving around cancer, remission and chemotherapy were beginning to fade away, he learnt that his mother had been diagnosed with cancer. On March 11, he was in Bucharest, having just wrapped up Raaz Reboot, when he learnt that she had been rushed to the ICU and, just before he boarded the flight from Romania, he was told that she had succumbed to a stone.

Is the production house a legacy of sorts that he wants to leave for Ayaan who made his debut last Friday in front of the camera in Dia Mirza's short film, Kids For Tigers? "No, I think eventually Ayaan will do things on his own. If he does become an actor, he might choose to go out and do any film he wants. I don't want to put any binding on him. And he may even start his own production. I'll let him make his own choices. This is something I wanted for myself," says Emraan.

Before that he has the fourth part of the Raaz franchise coming up. And he's gung-ho about it. "I'm an avid horror film buff. I've watched a lot of Korean, Japanese and English films in this genre and I think it was a great idea to take Raaz out of Mumbai and the city to Romania. The snow and the vibe of the place not only added to the buzz on the sets but also gave it a distinctly different landscape, taking you back to The Omen and The Shining. It gave me the chills, literally," Emraan signs off with a smile.

Emraan Hashmi on his son's acting debut at six. He was the same age when he made his
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 30, 2016)

Emraan Hashmi is a proud dad. On Friday, commemorated as International Tiger Day, his son, Ayaan, the 'superhero' of his first bestseller, Kiss of Life: How A Superhero and my Son Defeated Cancer, made his acting debut. The 37-yearold actor chronicled the moment on the social media exulting, "Ayaan makes his first appearance on screen at the age of 6...The same age as I was when I first faced the camera!"

The little boy is seen along with 14 other kids of different ages with a Tiger tattoo on their faces, urging grown-ups not to harm tigers or destroy the forests in a short film, Kids for Tigers, produced by Dia Mirza. Written by Cara Tejpal and Dia's husband Sahil Sangha and filmed by Rohan Shrestha, it propagates a simple, heartfelt message through these innocents about tigers and environment conservation. The video uploaded on YouTube, impresses upon heartless adults the need to leave a better world behind for the voiceless wild cats.

Even though it was a first for him, Ayaan exhibited the effortless ease of a veteran as he campaigned for the cause, reprimanding grown-ups for doing horrible things. "You hurt tigers and you hurt living beings. When all the trees are gone, where will the animals go? Where will we go?" he questioned, earnestly.

His mom, Parveen, had taken him for the shoot and dad was waiting to see what his son had done. When he did see the video he was like, "Wow, this little guy is good! There's so much ease in his body language, hands in his pocket, he mouths his lines without any signs of discomfort or inhibition. It's very nice," he applauded.

Emraan goes on to reminisce about his own acting debut, admitting frankly that it was easier for him because he did not have any lines. "It was my first ad for a mosquito repellent. There was a jingle playing, I had to come out from beneath a bed sheet and say something. I don't remember what, but it was definitely not the kind of dialogue my son speaks. For me it was more about looking cute," he laughs.

He was paid Rs 2,500 for the shoot. His parents didn't want him to spend the money but at the same time they wanted him to feel good about earning it. "So they told me that I had bought own toys with my first paycheque and whisked me off on trip to Tokyo," he flashbacks.

Since this is for a cause, there was no money involved as far as Ayaan's debut goes. But given how much his son loves animals, in particular dogs and the wild cats, Emraan is planning to take him on a tiger safari soon.

To his delight Ayaan enjoyed the experience thoroughly and is far more receptive to the camera than he ever was. "He was watching the shot, again and again, and must have seen the video at least 10 times. He seems to have fallen in love with himself, while I was uncomfortable seeing myself on camera initially. I'm more at ease now," Emraan confides.

So does he see a young actor growing up at home? "Of course, Ayaan is very clear he wants to be one," he reveals. "I don't know if he will reconsider later, but right now it's, 'Dad, this is what I want to do, I love it!' And I think thanks to this experience, he understand what I do better now."

With a smile Emraan goes on to say that his son loves the attention and enjoys the limelight. "He likes acting and telling stories and these are all signs of an actor and a filmmaker," he signs off.

On the occasion of Eid, Emraan Hashmi talks about his multicultural family and how he is celebrating the festival today
Mohar Basu (BOMBAY TIMES; July 7, 2016)

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 24, 2016)

After back-to-back shoots for Anthony D'Souza's biopic Azhar and Vikram Bhatt's horror flick Raaz Reboot, Emraan Hashmi is off to the US and Canada with his wife Parveen and son Ayaan for a well deserved two-week vacation. "A holiday, it was long overdue, what with the films and the book (Kiss of Life: How a Superhero and my Son defeated Cancer). Ayaan loves Canada which is why we decided to go there," the 37-year-old actor told Mirror.

Prod him if the family has made any plans and he shrugs, "We have been to both these countries before so nothing specific. We will be leaving post the launch of my book in Mumbai on the 30th," reveals Emraan who after his son who was diagnosed with a malignant tumour in his kidney flew him down to Canada which has the best children's care in the world.

His last holiday was around the year-end when the actor had taken some time off from his busy schedule to bring in the New Year with his family at an undisclosed destination.