With the success of Murder 2, Emraan Hashmi insists he has graduated from a serial kisser' to a bankable star. In five years, he says that his returns will be on par with the Khans
Did you ever expect such a positive reception of Murder 2 ?
We knew that we had a great product at hand, but yes, as an actor, I had Friday jitters. Your most intrinsic fears on a Friday are how many people will turn up at the theatre; will people turn up at all?
So, how was this Friday for you?
It has got the second-largest opening after Ready this year, which is phenomenal. I want to celebrate. In the Emraan-Bhatt combination, it is our biggest hit. Now we have to make Murder 3.
All your films produce hit songs. Do you participate in their making?
No, the day I will, the music will stop working (laughs). These decisions are taken by the creative team, the music directors and singers. It is a responsibility that you have to constantly live up to: they believe Emraan must have good music, that is one of the essential elements.
Do you think you've established yourself as a bankable actor?
The perception has always been that I am a mass actor but Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai was a huge game-changer for me. Before the release of the film, it was being said that it is a mass movie but later it was endorsed by the entire audience.
I reinforced that with Murder 2. I am not being boastful but if you ask any trade person, he will say that I stand second only to Salman as far as single-screen audiences go.If this statement makes people feel that I have gotten too big for my boots, probably I have with this film.
You have always played grey characters. Do you think that audiences will accept you in a positive role?
I find the grey characters are not unidimensional. The roles of protagonists have changed over the years. People now like a bad boy. They feel he is more adept to dealing with society. A good guy is a pushover, someone who can be trampled over.
They see strength in a good bad-boy because he's street smart and has qualities to deal with everyday life. In Murder 2, the lead is against the flesh trade, he respects women that adds to his persona as he takes on the bad-boy.
But does this limit you as an actor?
Playing the good guy would be interesting. But right now, it has to be a bad guy because I like characters with no reference point. I like them to set trends. So if I have to play the good guy then it has to be a path-breaking, out-of-the-box script which unfortunately I haven't come across so far.
Does it help your market price?
It does, reasonably. I don't want it to get to my head. I understand that an unreasonable hike affects my investors. So I would like to quote a price where everyone makes money. That's why a film like Murder 2 is a huge hit.
It is made in just Rs 13 crore, including publicity. With this, after the second day you have an overflow from your distributors. I can double or triple my price, but that is not fair.
You are working with Dibakar Banerjee and Vishal Bhardwaj
I've always admired these filmmakers and it's a dream to work with them. I've just finished shooting Shanghai and Dibakar stands for a different kind of cinema. He has a certain sense of logic and relatable characters.
For me, this is a growth in the actor in me. Vishal's Daayan is again a very interesting film and it's an entirely new genre. There is no reference point for Dayaan.
There were reports that Rani opted out of Daayan because of you. Earlier, Mallika Sherawat spoke against you. Do you get affected when actresses don't want to work with you?
I would like to say that it affects me, but it doesn't. If Rani has done it for personal reasons, it is her loss. But I think that the film will happen with or without anyone and I am a part of it.I have no problem working with anyone. I am a fairly well adjusted person. I leave the casting to the director.
You have often said that you are not happy with your serial-kisser image.
I have no problem doing films with sexual content. The audience has evolved and this is not a taboo, except for people who have not evolved with time.
But my issue is peoples' lack of imagination, which makes them only think about the kissing. It's annoying and irritating because many people work on the film, and all that is talked about is me being a serial kisser. I would not like to have any label at all.
After the success of Murder 2, you can now be compared to actors such as Ranbir and Imran?
As far as the business and trade goes, I would want to be compared to the Khans and not to new people. After 25 years the business of my films is half or one-third of the Khans. Considering I've been around for only seven years, give me five more and I will be at par with them. These are straight statistics.
Did you ever expect such a positive reception of Murder 2 ?
We knew that we had a great product at hand, but yes, as an actor, I had Friday jitters. Your most intrinsic fears on a Friday are how many people will turn up at the theatre; will people turn up at all?
So, how was this Friday for you?
It has got the second-largest opening after Ready this year, which is phenomenal. I want to celebrate. In the Emraan-Bhatt combination, it is our biggest hit. Now we have to make Murder 3.
All your films produce hit songs. Do you participate in their making?
No, the day I will, the music will stop working (laughs). These decisions are taken by the creative team, the music directors and singers. It is a responsibility that you have to constantly live up to: they believe Emraan must have good music, that is one of the essential elements.
Do you think you've established yourself as a bankable actor?
The perception has always been that I am a mass actor but Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai was a huge game-changer for me. Before the release of the film, it was being said that it is a mass movie but later it was endorsed by the entire audience.
I reinforced that with Murder 2. I am not being boastful but if you ask any trade person, he will say that I stand second only to Salman as far as single-screen audiences go.If this statement makes people feel that I have gotten too big for my boots, probably I have with this film.
You have always played grey characters. Do you think that audiences will accept you in a positive role?
I find the grey characters are not unidimensional. The roles of protagonists have changed over the years. People now like a bad boy. They feel he is more adept to dealing with society. A good guy is a pushover, someone who can be trampled over.
They see strength in a good bad-boy because he's street smart and has qualities to deal with everyday life. In Murder 2, the lead is against the flesh trade, he respects women that adds to his persona as he takes on the bad-boy.
But does this limit you as an actor?
Playing the good guy would be interesting. But right now, it has to be a bad guy because I like characters with no reference point. I like them to set trends. So if I have to play the good guy then it has to be a path-breaking, out-of-the-box script which unfortunately I haven't come across so far.
Does it help your market price?
It does, reasonably. I don't want it to get to my head. I understand that an unreasonable hike affects my investors. So I would like to quote a price where everyone makes money. That's why a film like Murder 2 is a huge hit.
It is made in just Rs 13 crore, including publicity. With this, after the second day you have an overflow from your distributors. I can double or triple my price, but that is not fair.
You are working with Dibakar Banerjee and Vishal Bhardwaj
I've always admired these filmmakers and it's a dream to work with them. I've just finished shooting Shanghai and Dibakar stands for a different kind of cinema. He has a certain sense of logic and relatable characters.
For me, this is a growth in the actor in me. Vishal's Daayan is again a very interesting film and it's an entirely new genre. There is no reference point for Dayaan.
There were reports that Rani opted out of Daayan because of you. Earlier, Mallika Sherawat spoke against you. Do you get affected when actresses don't want to work with you?
I would like to say that it affects me, but it doesn't. If Rani has done it for personal reasons, it is her loss. But I think that the film will happen with or without anyone and I am a part of it.I have no problem working with anyone. I am a fairly well adjusted person. I leave the casting to the director.
You have often said that you are not happy with your serial-kisser image.
I have no problem doing films with sexual content. The audience has evolved and this is not a taboo, except for people who have not evolved with time.
But my issue is peoples' lack of imagination, which makes them only think about the kissing. It's annoying and irritating because many people work on the film, and all that is talked about is me being a serial kisser. I would not like to have any label at all.
After the success of Murder 2, you can now be compared to actors such as Ranbir and Imran?
As far as the business and trade goes, I would want to be compared to the Khans and not to new people. After 25 years the business of my films is half or one-third of the Khans. Considering I've been around for only seven years, give me five more and I will be at par with them. These are straight statistics.
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