Actor Emraan Hashmi, who drew plaudits for his role in Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, says that the risks he took in his career, have paid off.
“I always wanted to play versatile characters; it’s just that I got slotted,” said Hashmi, at a promotional event for upcoming film Ghanchakkar. “I was only taking up films that were offered to me.”
Hashmi also believes that when film-makers start taking risks, they can see the versatility of an actor. “After seeing the turning point in my career, which was [the film] Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, people started thinking beyond the image,” said Hashmi. “Film-makers can see I can do other films beyond the typical noir cinema of 2009. Things have really changed.”
Before Hashmi became an actor, he worked with Vishesh Films as an assistant director on director Vikram Bhatt’s film Raaz. In 2003, he made his acting debut with another one of Bhatt’s films, Footpath. After a spate of films like Murder, Zeher, Aksar and Gangster — A love story and Crook, that earned him the title of Bollywood’s ‘serial kisser’, Hashmi found it funny that people only focused on intimacy on screen. In one of his previous interviews, he was quoted by bollywoodshine.com as saying: “I continued to do bold characters, and everyone is doing that now. So now people can digest it. That was not the case with my films.”
Hashmi received critical acclaim for portraying a variety of characters in movies like Awarapan (2007), Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010), The Dirty Picture (2011) and Shanghai (2012). In April, Hashmi made a statement that he has the courage and conviction to work in a film that other stars may hesitate to be associated with, but his dream remains to be a part of biopics and films like Aviator.
Hashmi was last seen in the unconventional flick Ek Thi Daayan. Calling it a “rebirth” in his career post-2009, the actor admitted that breaking through stereotypes in films like The Dirty Picture and Ek Thi Daayan have brought him success.
“There was almost a rebirth in my career in 2009,” said Hashmi. “I got to do the work that I really wanted to do. In any decision, you have to be slightly cautious but you have to take risks. In my career, risks have already paid off.”
Hashmi’s forthcoming comedy movie Ghanchakkar will release on June 28.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2013.
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