Emraan Hashmi moved out of the family banner two years ago and all four of his releases since-Ek Thi Daayan, Ghanchakkar, Shanghai and now Raja Natwarlal-have failed to hit the bull's eye. But uncle Mahesh Bhatt insists that it's not over for Emraan.

The actor returns to the home concern with Mr X and Hamari Adhuri Kahani and an optimistic Bhatt says philosophically, “There is darkness now but there will be light tomorrow. Can you stop the sunrise after the sunset?“ On Emraan's latest release, Raja Natwarlal, which interestingly was helmed by one of his prodigies, Kunal Deshmukh, Bhatt says, “Emraan has raised his hand and admitted that the film has failed. How many actors do that? But its failure lies with Kunal. However, he too should not be written off.”

Apparently, once he realised that Raja Natwarlal had failed to set the cash registers ringing, Emraan rushed to Bhatt, who gave him a pep talk. “The film’s box office response did dampen Emraan’s spirits,” he claims.

Will Bhatt make adjustments to his two upcoming films to resurrect his nephew’s career? “No, I am always confident of what we put on floors. I am sure that brand Emraan will be back. Don’t you write his obituary yet,” he concludes. 

Kunal Deshmukh, 32, is patient, cool and loyal and totally consumed with only making films. He is more practical than emotional and is always in search for a story . While ambition is extremely attractive to him, he is excessively self-critical and finds it difficult to push himself. Over an hour-long conversation, ahead of his first con revenge drama Raja Natwarlal, he talks to Bombay Times about his mentor Mahesh Bhatt, his favourite star Emraan Hashmi and how he has grown up in the last one year.Excerpts:

How did you become a director?
I was 21 and had just returned studying filmmaking from NYU. One of my closest friends from school is Sahil (son of Kumkum Saigal, who is the executive producer in Bhatt films and is also Mahesh Bhatt's real sister). Through Sahil, I met Mohit Suri who was his cousin. We were partying at Goa on one New Year, when Mohit said to me, 'I am starting a film in a few months. It will be fun. Come work with me.' And I started assisting Mohit and was his assistant for three films - Zeher, Kalyug and Woh Lamhe. And that's when I met Bhatt sahab. He deconstructed Indian cinema for me completely, as I still had that chip on my shoulder of having gone to film school abroad and been exposed to international cinema, thinking that we should also make films like theirs. Bhatt sahab understands India and knows it from the grassroot level. I was so exposed and influenced by him from a young age, which is why my films have a touch of him when it comes to areas of human conflict. And while he broke me down, he also gave me the confidence to think that I could find my voice. I then made my second film Tum Mile that did not do as well as my first film. I didn't know what I did right in Jannat that it did so well. I had got lucky with a lot of things, but I thought it was so easy to make a hit film and then when people didn't like my second film, it was a rude shock. I remember walking down from the old Vishesh Films office at JVPD and going to Contemporary Arts & Crafts and I just started crying. When I went back up, Bhatt sahab said to me, 'I am glad you faced this failure and have owned up to it. It's only when you own up and say that I am the director and the film did not do well as I failed, is when you can move ahead.'

Why did you move out of Bhatts to make Raja Natwarlal?
Bhatt sahab would often push me to have my own voice. And deep down, after doing three films with the Bhatts, I felt that it had stopped happening for me. I was making just a particular type of cinema and I was not challenging myself. I felt that I needed to move out and figure out things on my own, otherwise I would have been just another director in the Bhatt camp. Raja Natwarlal is a film that cannot be made with the Bhatts. If you look at the heart of Raja..., it's a great con film. I don't think they would like to make a con film. They have a tried-and-tested way to make a film that is budget-driven and they are very clear about what they want to or not want to make. And while my mentor still is Bhatt sahab, I moved out as I just wanted to grow up and be able to feel that henceforth, all success and all failures would be mine.

Talk about Mahesh Bhatt?
He is the strongest person with a voice, that I have ever met. At the same time, as a teacher, he is not trying to make you like him. He is this irreverential person, who is anti-establishment with pathbreaking thoughts. He is constantly living on the edge. He never takes off for a weekend or a holiday. He is the teacher I was looking for, who helped me discover what I wanted to do. He is very young in his head, and emotional. He is such an intelligent person, but he just brings 15% of that into the producer Mahesh Bhatt. He can do great cinema and revolutionise it, if he puts his heart and soul into it. Every film that he has put his heart into has been a gem, be it Raaz, Murder, Gangster, Jannat or Aashiqui 2. It was a difficult decision for me to move out of the Bhatts to follow my own path. But he sat me down and had a conversation. He said, 'Kunal, we were two people in life that met and had a particular journey together, and our paths will again cross in the future. If you ever need me, I am just a phone call away.' And that he is. I have gone and pitched him my one lines and he has never made me feel differently, given that I am not doing a film with him. I played Mukeshji my songs and he was very happy.

All your four films have been with Emraan Hashmi. What is he like?
He is extremely reserved and does not let you in easily. I too, have only gradually got to know him. We didn't do dinners till the second film. I didn't hang out with his family until the third film. He is very fierce and people don't see it, but he has this burning desire to shine through and that is what I love about him. No matter who tells him what, he doesn't care. He is such a strong fighter. I love that he is not filmi and is not obsessed with Hindi movies and opening weekends. What I don't like about him is that he is lazy. He can push himself and has started doing that. He is extremely talented and secure and can afford to sell himself better.

You are in a relationship with your associate director Sonali Rattan. Talk about her?
Sonali has been assisting me right from Jannat. She too, was in college with Mohit and is a year-and-a-half older to me. We were close friends for a really long time, but started dating only last year, post Jannat 2. We are still best friends and have a great working relationship. I always tell her that she is far more talented and much more natural at filmmaking than I am. What will take me 5 hours takes her just one hour. Even though I am extremely dependent on her, I have told her that there will be a point very soon when she will stop learning from me and that is the time she should be an independent filmmaker. I can't give her enough credit, even though she is the one who is actually living the film with me every single day and it's very hard to be in a relationship with someone like me, who does not switch off from work at all. She is brighter, smarter, emotional and naturally gifted. I am not egoistic at all and have told her that I don't really mind producing or being an EP on a film that she directs. I love her for her love for life and that is one similarity I see with her and Bhatt sahab. They are just alive all the time. I am drawn to her clean heart and honesty. I love the fact that I feel challenged by her. Of course, she needs to be way more patient and less emotional in this line. Apart from our common interests, she loves me for my honesty. She doesn't like the fact that sometimes I will not confront people and will try my best to evade a fight. She will pick a fight with even a rickshawallah if she has to.

Any plans of getting married?
We have just started dating and are right now very happy, but I do see myself getting married to her. Once this film gets done, sooner or later, I would have to figure out what next.

How difficult was it emotionally to be on your own?
I am a Maharashtrian and was born and brought up in Mumbai. My dad was in the merchant navy and my mom did theatre and a little television. He then got into his own shipping business and last year, my parents moved to Jakarta. This was also the time that I moved out of the Bhatts to be on my own. So, the last one year has been about change and finding myself. It was a good change and I feel that it should have happened to me a few years back. I was spoilt and I could just leave everything to my parents, right from food to petrol to everything else. I used to wake up and leave the house and never had any problems of running the house. My growing up happened in the last one year, and I am loving it. I love not being taken care of and all the messy problems that come with running your house, including paying your bills or seeing whether vegetables are there or not. This one year has really helped me understand who I am. In the Vishesh Films system, I was just a cog in the wheel. Now I am not. It took me a little time to find my bearings, feeling a little alone and a little scared on the way. I had the fear of failure and the fear that I would have to return back to Bhatt sahab with my tail between my legs and say, 'I am sorry. Please take me back.' But I didn't want to do that. I did promise Mukeshji, 'I would come back, but I would come back so successful that I would only add to you.' I didn't want to come back as a failure.

Kay Kay Menon, who plays the suave villain in the con revenge drama Raja Natwarlal, starring Emraan Hashmi and Humaima Malick, displayed his mischievous side by pulling a fast one on their director Kunal Deshmukh.

Taking the film’s assistant directors into confidence, the actor got a few junior artistes to dress up as cops.
He then picked a fight with the staff of the hotel, where they were filming. While Kunal and the hotel staff tried pacifying the actor, the fake cops arrived and wanted to arrest the director for not shooting peacefully.

Barely had the director walked a few steps with the ‘policemen’ that Kay Kay revealed that it was all a practical joke. While Kunal heaved a sigh of relief, everyone on the set was amused. Says the actor, “Since our film is about cons, I thought it would be fun to fool the cast and crew for real too. And the best part is that no one suspected me, as people think I’m a serious person.”

Raja Natwarlal, produced by UTV Motion Pictures, releases August 29.

Emraan Hashmi has built a big mass fan following over the years. In a first for any film or star, Raja Natwarlal will be shown to Rickshawallas at Chandan theatre on August 23, a week before the release of the film. Raja Natwarlal is a con revenge drama and is a full-on masala entertainer. We heard that Emraan is really excited to watch it with the rickshawallas as it's their love which has made him who he is today. We hope we get invited too.

A part from good music and a plot riddled with many twists, what makes Raja Natwarlal interesting is the unique relationship shown between Emraan Hashmi and Paresh Rawal, who plays his mentor in the film.
Director Kunal Deshmukh narrates how they were seeking a formidable actor to play Emraan's onscreen mentor. “We needed someone who commands respect and we got lucky with Paresh sir.“ The director adds that even though Rawal has always been fascinated with the subject of con artists, he wasn't keen to do a movie on the topic. He had categorically told Kunal that he'd give his nod to the film only if the script was good. “Fortunately, our script convinced him,“ he says.

In the film, Rawal plays the master con artist Emraan is looking for. Luckily, the two actors hit it off from the first day of the shoot. Talking about their rapport, Emraan says, “Pareshji is spontaneous and generous as a co-star. We ended up improvising our scenes because of our camaraderie.“

On his part, Rawal states, “I'm glad to have worked in this film. It's one of the performances closest to my heart. Emraan and I have some memorable scenes together.“

Such was their bonhomie that the two were always looking out for each other. In fact, for one particular scene, Rawal even let Emraan mouth the lines, which were originally meant for him. “Paresh sir was conscious that it has to be an Emraan Hashmi film at the end of the day. And Emraan would request him to add his humour to a scene, thereby making it more fun,“ Kunal sums up.

Raja Natwarlal, produced by UTV Motion Pictures, releases August 29.

Yuvan Shankar Raja, 34, called lovingly Yuvi at home, is not just the legend Ilaiyaraaja's younger son, but is also India's youngest composer, who did his first Tamil film music at the age of 16. While Yuvan in his name stands for young, Shankar was added by a pandit and Raja, his family name, when he became a composer. After giving music in 100 Tamil films, he makes his Bollywood debut with Raja Natwarlal. Over an hour-long conversation, the otherwise inaccessible composer opens up to Bombay Times about why he sung for AR Rahman, what made him convert to Islam and why no one can replace his mother in the world. Excerpts:

Being Ilaiyaraaja's son, was becoming a composer the obvious choice for you?
I grew up in a musical environment, but I always wanted to become a pilot. When I was 13, my mom sent me to learn piano from Jacob John, who has also taught piano to A R Rahman and my elder brother and sister. As a child, I used to listen to English music and kept hitting some chords on the piano by myself. When he asked me to play something, he said to me, 'What will I teach you? You are on the right track. I will teach you some basics and then, you are on your own.' Slowly, I started composing at 13 and did my first film with both background score and songs at 16, and became the youngest composer to do that.

Talk about your connection with AR Rahman?
Rahman used to play the keyboard for my dad, when he was a kid back in the day with the orchestra. So he knows me since I was six and has seen me growing up. I know Rahman, but am not close to him. I have sung just twice for him, whereas I have sung at least 10 times for my father. But being Ilaiyaraaja's son, singing for Rahman became a big deal. Actually, I sung for Rahman as I don't have any ego, so I wanted to set an example for future composers to not have an ego and boundaries with other composers. My dad asked me, 'What made you sing?' I said, 'I just felt like singing.' After that, I started getting calls from lots of composers to sing, but to maintain exclusivity I said no except once I sung for Dharan.

Talk about your father?
My dad thinks about music 24 x7. Even at home, if you see him, he will be writing. He still goes to classes to learn writing. I respect his drive and dedication to work, where, despite his age, he is still doing 5-6 films a year and has recently completed composing for 1,000 films. Once I remember when I was small, he was really sick but even though he couldn't even walk, he went to work. His life is centered around his music. He is not an expressive person and doesn't show his emotions. If I play a song, he will not show it. Max to max he will laugh and ask, 'What did you do?' His laughing is a sign that he appreciated it. We all live together but I don't like his temper. I was very close to my mom and my older brother Karthik is very close to my father. He knows that I am a rebel and will do what I have to and that I will not listen to anybody. I am guessing that he doesn't like how I decide everything on my own without any discussion with anybody. My brother was a gold medalist from Trinity, whereas I was a school drop out after Class IX, so I know that my father would not have imagined that I could have done so well. I am the underdog in my family. And while I know that my father is proud of me, he is even more proud of my brother due to the knowledge of music he has. I do love my father, but my respect for him is even more.

Who do you love the most in the world?
My mom. She died of a heart attack all of a sudden in 2011. She was a housewife and used to run the entire show. We have a large, extended family, but she held all of us together and was the singular pillar. It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that she was no longer there. I would cry a lot till 2013. I had a lot of work, but after her, could not concentrate. People started trashing my work. It was the worst time of my life. She was my force as it was she who always pushed and motivated me. After her, there is a vacuum in my life and I now need to push myself. She was most attached to me and prayed the most for me. She liked me for being a rebel, who was emotional and affectionate. She knew that I am a giver, who, given an opportunity, would do any thing for my family. I had composed a song titled Aarariraro from the film Raam that was her favourite. It is a generic lullaby for kids. In the song, the son sings the lullaby for his mother to sleep as his mother is about to die. He tells her, 'Come, lie in my lap. I will sing for you. In my next birth, I want you to be my daughter.' Four days prior to her passing away, I came back home around midnight. I was hungry and was cooking Maggi in the kitchen, when she came in. She opened the door and I asked her, 'Aren't you sleeping?' On TV that same song was playing and she said to me, 'Yuvan, whenever I listen to this song, I cry. How much you have sacrificed to come to this level.' That stuck with me. Being the son of a legendary composer is not an easy job. Bollywood is a bigger platform and to see me compose my debut film, she would have been very happy.

How did you get Raja Natwarlal?
Pritam not only suggested my name to Kunal Deshmukh, but was persistent that he sign me. It's rare for a composer to recommend another in the way Pritam did.

What is your relationship status?
I first got married when I was 25, but my marriage lasted for three months. I again married when I was 30, but am now separated and on the way to divorce. I feel very lonely and would like to get married again and have a family. The main problem with me is that I need to give more time to my relationship. I do minimum 10 films every year and I'm always preoccupied in my mind. I love to help people. While for big films, I charge commercially, I have also done films for free for struggling people. My father too has helped a lot of people in his life and is not commercial. If a producer's wife came to her to tell her that her husband had no money, my mother would request my dad to help. I too have imbibed that.

What made you convert to Islam?
My father is a staunch Hindu and is so superstitious that even if a glass breaks, he will call a pandit. Both my parents were ritualistic, but right from childhood, I used to always have a thought that beyond all this there is a supernatural power who is running the whole world.

How can God be in any form?
That search was always there in me. What triggered my conversion was my mom's sudden passing away . I had come to Mumbai for some work. When I returned to Chennai, my mom was coughing badly and me and my sister rushed her to the hospital. I was driving the car. We reached the hospital and I was sitting next to her holding her hand and the next second her hand fell and she had died. I was crying but wondered where her soul went within seconds as she was alive just a few seconds back. I was in search of the answers and I should say that I got a direct calling from Allah. It was a spiritual experience. My friend had just been to Mecca and he said to me, 'You seem to be really low. You have to move on.' He gave me the musalla (the prayer mat) and said, 'This one mat I used in Mecca and it has touched Mecca so if you are feeling really heavy, just sit on it.' I kept the mat in one corner of my room and forgot all about it. A few months later I was speaking to one of my cousins about my mother and I started feeling really heavy. I entered my room and coincidentally saw the mat which all this while I had missed even though it was kept in the same corner. I sat on it for the first time just started crying saying, 'Ya Allah please forgive my sins.' That was 2012. I started reading the Quran and the translations and it connected with me really fast. I started practising Islam and learnt how to pray and by January 2014, felt sure about converting. Since I am known as Yuvan Shankar Raja in films, I have still not changed my name officially in my passport and other records, but maybe later, I might do that too. My father was the last one I told in my house to. I told him, 'I have started reading the Quran and it gives me a lot of peace.' He said to me, 'Yuvan, I am not comfortable with you becoming Islamic.' My brother and his wife were very supportive. It's odd but in some way I used to get that spiritual feeling that it was my mom, who held my hand, and said, `Yuvan, you are alone. I want you to stand here under the tree called Islam.'

During his recent visit to the Bombay Times office, Emraan Hashmi impressed us with his disarming honesty as he spoke about Raja Natwarlal, his wife's reaction to his films and his Bollywood journey. Of course, since it's Emraan, questions about kissing scenes abounded and he even joked about writing a book on the subject. Excerpts:

With Raja Natwarlal, you have gone back to your comfort zone...
Yes, it has been a year-and-a-half, devoid of what I've been known for. We've packed all of it in this film. It's making up for lost time and lost kisses (smiles). I call my cinema, more parallel mainstream. It has got a great story and is emotionally charged. Raja Natwarlal is a family film with kisses.

You had earlier stated that you had almost learnt this film's script by heart. Are you this involved in every film?
I put in this much effort into every film. Like Shanghai required a month of theatre workshops to break the mould for me. A film like Raja Natwarlal is in another zone. It's similar to my other films in some ways because it is in the grey zone and is about a cool, urban character. But I had to work hard to get the swagger right and bring something new while doing the scamster act. To play the street guy convincingly, I had to learn a few things like teen patti.

Your co-star Humaima Malick said you are very good at romance. How do you react to that compliment? And what did your wife have to say about it?
My wife has not read that, so I don't know how she would react. I'm not a romantic at heart, I'm not into flowers and candlelight dinners, I'm into other freaky stuff. When Humaima said that, she obviously meant onscreen because the relationship between these two characters, Raja and Nazia, has come out well. She was nervous when she met me for the first time at home for narration. I purposely kept a distance and pretended to be reserved, so that she doesn't think I'll pounce on her and start kissing her! She felt I was arrogant. But after fourto-five days of shoot, it was good.

Your son Ayaan has apparently not seen any of your films. Will Raja Natwarlal be the first?
Yeah, he'll see it. We'll have to shut his eyes during the kissing scenes.

How old were you when you saw a kissing scene for the first time?
I must have been seven or eight years old. It used to get awkward for my family when something like that would pop up on the screen. They used to either fast forward it or throw me out of the room.

You started the kissing trend in Bollywood. So, would you take the credit for sensitising the industry and making kissing commonplace?
Yes, I played a big part in it. I've corrupted the youth, audience and Bollywood! Erotic thrillers were not a part of our cinematic culture until we got into it and did well. It was criticised and shunned by a section of the media and audience. But it has been accepted gradually and now, it is a part and parcel of our films.

With more and more actors open to kissing on screen, do you worry it will take away from your niche?
No, I'll always be the guy who pioneered it.

Your cousin, Alia Bhatt is also following in your footsteps and locking lips in every film.
She is definitely not following in my footsteps. She has kissed in a couple of films. She is very young, has done some nice films and is also catering to kids who are tuned into her kind of movies.

If you ever write a book, will you include a chapter on how to kiss?
I can write a whole book on it; it won't be just one chapter (laughs).

You've never been linked with any actress. Would you say you're very loyal or very smart?
I could be either one. People feel it's bizarre that I've not been linked. But why can't you have affairs and then conceal them well? I'm not answering that question. It'll get me into trouble either ways (smiles).

Which of your films has your wife enjoyed?
She has not watched a few films, which may get difficult for her to digest. Some of her favourites are Shanghai and The Dirty Picture. She likes films in which I don't kiss. But she has always been supportive.

Your 'plastic' comment on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on a chat show raised eye brows...
I like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. For the longest time, I was a big fan of hers. I respect all those people I spoke about on the show. It's the format of the show, you have got to be slightly controversial and you have to do it to win the hamper. So everything is taken in jest.

You have completed a decade in the industry. How has the journey been so far?
There have been many ups and down. I was sleepwalking in the first five years of my career because I was not really passionate about this job. It was not like a childhood dream. But after that, I started enjoying the process of acting and making films.

The industry seems to have now welcomed you with open arms. How do you react to this drastic change?
I didn't want to get accepted by the industry. I was okay as long as the audience was accepting me, as long as there were filmmakers who felt that I could really contribute to a film. And I had filmmakers who were doing that. Then slowly, those films, which were shunned, became mainstream and a sizeable portion of the audience started coming and watching my movies. My films didn't conform to what was out there. I felt very proud that I was not doing things that other people were doing and yet, my work was finding a niche for itself.

When Emraan Hashmi decided to allot 10 days to promote his upcoming film Raja Natwarlal, the move did not go down well with the Bhatts-Mahesh, Mukesh and Vikram.

Reason: They wanted these dates to wrap up their supernatural thriller, Mr. X, with the actor. Now, they will have to get fresh combination dates from the rest of the cast for the shoot.

When contacted, Emraan's uncle, Mahesh Bhatt, didn't mince words, saying, “He did inform me about this change in plans but he still caught me off-guard. Without taking away from his efforts, I have to say that I am the architect of Brand Emraan. We are his parent company and deserve his loyalty more than anyone else."

Interestingly, Raja Natwarlal's director Kunal Deshmukh is also a Bhatt protégé and this is his first film outside the camp.

Emraan responded to Mahesh's outburst saying, “Bhatt saab has been and always will be my mentor. But he forgets that he was the one who told me that in the end only success matters, be it through fair or foul means. I am going all out for Raja Natwarlal as it is a good film and I want it to succeed. Bhatt saab should be happy because I am following his teachings."

Emraan Hashmi, the suave conman from Raja Natwarlal, danced with his alluring co-star Humaima Malick in the upcoming song Flip Your Collar, which was shot at a mall in Mumbai recently. Humaima, a top Pakistani actress, oozed oomph as she followed instructions from Remo D'Souza, the song's choreographer. Emraan being the professional that he is, underwent a minor medical procedure in the morning, where he got a protrusion removed from his nose, and came straight from there to shoot this song. 

Kal the miley, phir kyun lage aise,

Tumse miley arsaa hua jaise

Ab tu bataa jo ho pataa

Tere bina lamha lamha jiyenge kaise...

Crooned by Arijit Singh, touched by the monsoon shower, bringing with it all the bittersweet emotions of meeting and parting, this is the first song from Raja Natwarlal to be released. However, the version was recorded as an afterthought, after 90 per cent of the con caper had been shot.


“It was Humaima's (Malik) introduction scene in the film, a seductive bar dance, and Shweta Pandit had recorded the female version earlier. But the more I heard the tune, the more I was convinced that it was a quintessential Emraan Hashmi love song. Finally, I coaxed my composer, Yuvan Shankar Raja, to give it a crack with Arijit Singh,“ recalls director Kunal Deshmukh.

Fortunately for him, Yuvan loved Arijit's voice, programmed the male version and flew down to Mumbai. It was recorded in 45 minutes flat even though Arijit wasn't feeling too well and requested that they push forward the recording to another day. “But Yuvan persuaded me to sing a few lines and after listening to it, insisted that the kharoch (scratch) in my voice was working for the song. Since he was okay with the scratches in my voice, I sang with out worrying about tonality and it was over in a flash,“ reveals the singer.

Arijit however admits that when he heard that Illayaraja's son was making his Bollywood debut with a commercial Emraan Hashmi film, he was surprised because the composer is known for his classy, semi-commercial scores down South. “But when I heard the track I was blown away. It was a catchy commercial track with Yuvan's Southern touch and the richness of melody," he raves. Kunal reveals that it was Pritam who referred Yuvan when he approached him to score for his fourth film. “Pritam wanted to take a break and sent me some links of Yuvan's songs. Little did I know that they'd never met before," he smiles.

Yuvan flew down to Mumbai and over a two-hour conversation Kunal and he sized each other up. The Southern whizkid was picky about his Bollywood debut but when Kunal narrated his story, he decided this was it. “He only laid down one condition, that he would compose all the songs. This suited me fine," recalls Kunal.

And so this tune was set and given to Irshad Kamil with the brief that he should come up with words of love that came straight from the heart. “Whenever I write a romantic song I try to project love in a new light. And this time I wanted something, which had a hint of zidd and aggression that comes when you are really and truly in love. Your beloved becomes your aim in life and you are ready to fight every obstacle to get her because you feel teri baahon ka ghera badaa mehfooz lage hai, badi bekhauf jagah hai yeh inme hi rehna chaahein," he points out, reasoning that it didn't matter to him whether a girl sang it or a boy because such feelings are not gender specific.

The song was picturised in the first week of July, incorporated into the second half, a promo was cut, got the censor nod and it opened to arousing reception yesterday. Arijit, who also sang Murder 2's Phir mohabbat karne chala tu, says, “It's always great to sing for Emraan because his songs usually click. Hopefully, this one too will bring romance to the long rainy days."

We have learnt that Emraan Hashmi conned one of the assistants of director Kunal Deshmukh's for just Rs 5,000. Not many know that Emraan may be shy and looks quiet, but he also has a very naughty side to him. What makes him a great conman in real life is his ability to have fun with a straight face and not give in to any pressure. While shooting for Raja Natwarlal, there was a scene where Emraan's character needed to pull a small con in a supermarket, for which Kunal's assistant was given Rs 5,000 so that she could give it to Emraan before the shot and take it back from him post the shot. But post the shot, Emraan just disappeared with the money.

Telling us about it, Kunal said, “Emraan insisted that he had returned the money and the poor AD kept telling him, 'No sir, I had given it to you.' He did not tell anyone about his prank and kept it to himself for the whole day, completely straight-faced. The AD was in tears by the end of the day. What Emraan does really well is that he will totally confuse you. He not only did not give in, but he waited and, in fact, stretched it till the end of the day, when he finally told her and returned the money." While Kunal has chosen Emraan for a role as a conman in his film, he would actually make a really cool conman in real life. Any takers?