Actor Emraan Hashmi had a fairly successful start in Hindi cinema with a string of box-office hits, but that didn’t stop him from constantly trying to reinvent himself by taking up challenging roles and backing content-driven films. He speaks to Bulbul Sharma about his 18-year-long acting career, his recent film Why Cheat India, and his resolve never to sign projects only for money.
Q. You started out in showbiz doing TV commercials as a child artiste. Did that early exposure motivate you to become an actor later on?
A. Probably. I experienced this world very early in life. Then I quit acting and stopped doing ads. But I think it just left an impact. I didn’t want to be an actor after that and I was trying my hand at different things. Then, acting just happened as an accident. I keep saying that I am an accidental actor. I just happened to steer my career into this and maybe the few ads that I did as a child helped propel me and gave me the confidence to act.
Q. You have been a part of the Hindi film industry for 18 years now. How has Bollywood changed over this span in your experience?
A. Back in the day, films like Why Cheat India wouldn’t be made. Such subjects wouldn’t be explored in films. The industry wouldn’t allow it or the producers wouldn’t fund it thinking what kind of an arty film this is. But such films are commercial spinners now. People want to see new ideas, fresh stories. They don’t want to see typical stars and big-budget films. Those might work still, but at least there is a place in the sun for films like Why Cheat India also.
Q. What do you think has triggered this new phase of content-driven cinema?
A. The audience has evolved, the filmmakers are taking more risks, there are more young minds in the business now. The audience doesn’t know what they want to see unless you give it to them. So we were probably petrified giving that previously; the thought probably didn’t even pop up in our consciousness, because there were films that were doing well because of the star system. But I think that it is better late than never, and this is the beginning of a trend where you can explore new films and new subjects and still do well commercially. People flock to theatres to watch quality films, which is good.
Q. There has been a major shift in terms of the films and roles you choose to do now, as opposed to what you were doing in the past. Has this been a conscious decision on your part? Is this an attempt to reinvent yourself and shed a particular image?
A. I am not trying to shed any image. I am just trying to do a variety of roles. I am not taking up roles thinking that I am doing this as a departure from an image. Just want to do diverse roles, films of different genres. The image that is associated with me is because of the genre of films that I used to do in the past and I have moved away from that. It had a very strong impression on people. That impression will surely break. I always say that if I used to kiss 10 times in a film, I am kissing only once now, so that’s progress. It is a step in the right direction.
Q. Did the “serial kisser” tag ever bother you?
A. It did bother me at one point. First of all, it was orchestrated by me but I had no idea it would pull on for so long. Kissing in films is one thing but being tagged as someone is another thing. It really didn’t come in the way of anything but I would want my films and my performances to get more traction for some other reasons as well. It popped up as a conversation point even when I was not kissing in the film. This tag was always lingering somewhere. I, at the same time, was getting a reality check. I knew that the audience was not coming to just watch that. They want to watch good films and they won’t just pay up to watch some particular scenes.
Q. You started doing very different kinds of films after the success of your 2011 movie The Dirty Picture. So is it safe to say that film was a turning point in your career?
A. It started a little earlier than Dirty Picture. I had a round of films that did well in which I didn’t abide by a certain image. For me as an actor Dirty Picture was a turning point but I had a film before that which became a cult hit. The film was Awarapan [2007]. It was a fantastic film. Jannat [2008] was a big turning point as well. Then there were producers who were ready to take a kind of a risk with me because I was known for a particular kind of cinema. They put me in the role of a gangster in Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai [2011]. That was a big change. And then came Dirty Picture. So it was a gradual fade-in of a particular kind of cinema and acceptance of these kinds of films. I really enjoyed it because I was playing a variety of roles.
Q. How does one stay relevant as an actor?
A. I think just by reinventing oneself. By doing good work and not taking the audience for granted. These factors play an important role. Don’t ever do films for money… I learned on my way that there is such a thing as creative fulfilment and as an actor you have to be sensitive to such things. There are things like giving the audience a fresh experience each time and reinventing yourself as an actor. I have been around for 18 years now and it is a fairly long time in the film industry.
Q. Have you ever signed a film for money?
A. I have done it early on in my career. I have done films for money, sometimes even without reading the script. It was probably to buy a particular car or house. But I realised that it doesn’t lead to a longer career. If you want more money then the irony is that you have to do films for less money because in the longer run you will make more money. So you have got to be smart.
Q. You have done a good number of serious roles in the past. How challenging was playing the scamster Rakesh Singh in your latest film, Why Cheat India?
A. This is not a serious character. It is rooted in something that is real. We all have shades of grey. We all do questionable things in life. He is part of the society and of a certain mafia clan which is unapologetically sucking the education system dry. It is not that they are completely wrong, they have their own justification. And what is interesting about the character is that on face value he doesn’t seem devious. He looks like a very prim and proper professional, similar to a guy who works, say, in a bank or is a teacher. But his mind is very devious and that gave me a different perspective on the character. He is not that typical grey character that I have played previously in films.
The beauty of this character is that he is unapologetic about what he does. At no point does he feel that the society has been so unfair to me and so I am doing this. He doesn’t need to justify himself. He is like, I am doing it for the money, I am not a hero, I am not a villain, and I just want to earn money. He is doing it for very basic things. He is doing it for ambition, to support his family. He has no scruples. He believes that if people need to point fingers they should point it towards the system and not towards what he is doing. He believes that he is only a foot soldier who is trying to make money along the way. At no point does he want people to love him or to sympathise with him. He is a character you would love and hate at the same time.
Q. Why Cheat India highlights the flaws of India’s education system. What are your personal thoughts on this issue?
A. The system is stuck in the 20th century and we are trying to look ahead at the 21st century but we can’t. Apart from that, not enough money is pumped into the education system. There aren’t many university seats. Over and above, the system is plagued by the cheating mafia who are giving undeserving students a place in the sun while good students have nowhere to go. So the film is showing a mirror to the system. Like it or hate it, this is exactly what is happening and nothing has been done about it for so many years. Hopefully, with this film, there will be a conversation.
Q. What are you working on now?
A. There are a couple of films. There is a Netflix show called Bard of Blood. There is Body, with Rishi Kapoor. Then there are two more films that I am producing—Father’s Day and one more.