‘I have miles to go’

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He was once dismissed as the “serial kisser” of Bollywood, but after a slew of back-to-back box office successes, Emraan Hashmi is having the last laugh. He struck gold with The Dirty Picture last year and followed it up with a completely different role in Shanghai, which was also liked by the masses. His latest release Raaz 3 has got an impressive opening putting an end to all post-release jitters.

Speaking of his experience in working with the 3D format for the first time, Emraan says, “It can get on your nerves and even bore you to death. Also since it takes double the time and is grossly expensive, I would often throw my patience to the wind. But having said that, the viewer in me is overtly fascinated by this technical form. I am extremely fond of the SFX and VFX genre and the world of graphics and sci-fi.”
Although he is enjoying his mainstream roles, Emraan is happy having done a film like Shanghai that allowed him to push the envelope. “A film like this undoubtedly adds more dimension to one’s repertoire,” he says. Tell him the industry feels he could be the next Salman Khan on the block, and he promptly dismisses it. “I am humbled by the eulogy but I still have miles to go. He is a senior actor with an illustrious career spanning over two decades. I am a die-hard fan,” he smiles, adding, “I wish I was a mass entertainer like him who carries an entire film on his shoulders, truly like a tiger, guaranteeing a `100-crore profit.”
Is his character in Raaz 3 based on a real Bollywood director’s life? “I hope it’s not Vikram’s own as in this movie my character romances two women at the same time,” laughs Emraan.
On a serious note he says that since he has worked with several directors, he has tried to bring in a mishmash of qualities to his character. And it wasn’t so difficult as he has already played the part of a director in The Dirty Picture.
Unlike several leading men in Bollywood who shy away from a script if it requires them to play second fiddle to the heroine, Emraan has no such reservations. He says, “Acting doesn’t always mean to hog the limelight in every scene. Sometimes being vulnerable is also an essential requisite to maintain a film’s subtle nuances. I feel the greatest flaw of a typical Hindi film hero is to feel insecure and try to be a James Bond in every flick and look his best for his own selfish reasons.”