This week on “The Front Row,” film critic Anupama Chopra meets actor Emraan Hashmi.
He talks about going against the grain, letting a woman take the lead and why he no longer chases big money.
Edited excerpts:
Anupama Chopra: Emraan, you were a supporting actor in your first film “Footpath.” You’ve had a very unconventional and long journey to stardom. Why do you think that’s the case?
Emraan Hashmi: People actually thought that I had gone completely loony in the head when they heard that I was given the choice of main lead and I played this other guy, Raghu. And I was like, ‘I find something better in this character. There’s a better character arc there.’ He’s not your typical righteous guy, I think we’ve seen too many of those. With my physicality and my face, I don’t think I could pull off a completely righteous guy. There’s something devious about my eyes. I like characters with flaws and to see how they overcome those flaws. I want to play real people and they’re flawed, not perfect.
Anupama: Your mentor, director Mahesh Bhatt, said that you wanted to own luxury cars, huge villas and that you thought that acting was the key to unlock Alibaba’s cave. Is that true? Was your original motivation money?
Mr. Hashmi: I wanted to make money very fast and I was completely confused after college. I didn’t know what career options I had. And then I had this entry point in the film industry and I thought ‘If this is where the fast money is going to come from, let’s see how it goes.’ I was an assistant director for a year and I realized, ‘God, this is a lot of hard work. This is going to take time. So what’s the shortcut? What’s the better option?’ Then thankfully, someone said, ‘Why don’t you become an actor?’ Of course, I realized later on, the films I purely did for money were not good experiences and I decided I didn’t want to do this just for cash.
More In The Front Row
Kangna Ranaut Has Lowered Her Expectations
Sonam Kapoor Wants an Ordinary Guy
Rishi Kapoor: ‘I Don’t Want Dad Roles’
Changing the Face of Bollywood
Karisma Kapoor on Being a ‘Yummy Mummy’
Anupama: You’ve always been seen as the mass-appeal hero so when you signed films with directors Karan Johar and Vishal Bhardwaj, there was a lot of buzz about you becoming A-list and you always countered that with, ‘I don’t know what A-list means.’ Why?
Mr. Hashmi: I’ve never really understood the division. I was being accepted by the people I was accepted by and that was great for me. I was very happy my films were working. I am an actor so I wanted to do films with everyone. I started getting offers from people like Karan and Vishal and I thought ‘Let’s try this out too.’ It’s a very different kind of cinema. I can try to place myself in that world, play the character honestly and see where it goes from here.
Anupama: In Hollywood, a George Clooney will do a film like “Gravity” where Sandra Bullock is the lead, but here that film would be impossible to cast because a woman takes the lead. You are one of the few actors who would do a female-oriented film like “The Dirty Picture.” Why do you think actors here so reluctant to do so and what makes you different?
Mr. Hashmi: It comes from inner strength and it’s the way you see how women are portrayed onscreen. I loved “Gravity.” I admire what George Clooney has done. With the budgeting of a film like that, you had to have a star like George Clooney as a supporting actor to Sandra Bullock. If the script is good, if I find my character’s great, it’s never the length. And I think 90% of actors in our industry suffer from looking at the length, they’re looking at the impact through the length. They’re looking at who’s got the chunkier dialogues, who’s saying the last line in the scene. For me, it’s always been characters and story. That’s it, it starts and stops with that. I’m willing to do anything. That’s what drives me.
Anupama: You’ve said in an interview that you’re living the male fantasy, what every Indian man wants. So what does every Indian man want?
Mr. Hashmi: Serenading the lady in the first three or four scenes and stealing a kiss in the first meeting. Generally you have four love songs and then there’s a fade in to a kiss but this guy’s doing it in the first scene so he’s cutting to the chase [laughs.] I think that’s extremely aspirational to the audience.
Anupama: You’ve always been very forthright about not attending parties or award shows, but isn’t all that part of your job description?
Mr. Hashmi: Not really. I’ve gotten my films without that. Ten years is proof of that. I go for a couple of parties; you won’t find me at every film party and never at award ceremonies. I tried attending for the first three to four years and I’ve performed at award shows. I sat in them and I’ve also exited pretty fast from them. It’s just not my place. I’d rather get their adulation in a cinema hall.
Anupama: What is the Emraan Hashmi formula for success?
Mr. Hashmi: It starts and ends with the script. I like to give something new to the audience, not the run of the mill stuff. When 10 people tell you do something, do completely the opposite. That’s what I believe in. If you’re going to do something that everyone is saying or telling you to do, there are already 50 actors who are doing that, so why not pick up something that everyone’s not doing? It might not end up being that successful but at least you’re doing stuff that you believe in.
Watch “The Front Row with Anupama Chopra” Friday at 8:30 pm on Star World for the full conversation with Emraan Hashmi. For more details on the show log on to their website, follow them on Twitter @tfr2013 and on Facebook.
He talks about going against the grain, letting a woman take the lead and why he no longer chases big money.
Edited excerpts:
Anupama Chopra: Emraan, you were a supporting actor in your first film “Footpath.” You’ve had a very unconventional and long journey to stardom. Why do you think that’s the case?
Emraan Hashmi: People actually thought that I had gone completely loony in the head when they heard that I was given the choice of main lead and I played this other guy, Raghu. And I was like, ‘I find something better in this character. There’s a better character arc there.’ He’s not your typical righteous guy, I think we’ve seen too many of those. With my physicality and my face, I don’t think I could pull off a completely righteous guy. There’s something devious about my eyes. I like characters with flaws and to see how they overcome those flaws. I want to play real people and they’re flawed, not perfect.
Anupama: Your mentor, director Mahesh Bhatt, said that you wanted to own luxury cars, huge villas and that you thought that acting was the key to unlock Alibaba’s cave. Is that true? Was your original motivation money?
Mr. Hashmi: I wanted to make money very fast and I was completely confused after college. I didn’t know what career options I had. And then I had this entry point in the film industry and I thought ‘If this is where the fast money is going to come from, let’s see how it goes.’ I was an assistant director for a year and I realized, ‘God, this is a lot of hard work. This is going to take time. So what’s the shortcut? What’s the better option?’ Then thankfully, someone said, ‘Why don’t you become an actor?’ Of course, I realized later on, the films I purely did for money were not good experiences and I decided I didn’t want to do this just for cash.
More In The Front Row
Kangna Ranaut Has Lowered Her Expectations
Sonam Kapoor Wants an Ordinary Guy
Rishi Kapoor: ‘I Don’t Want Dad Roles’
Changing the Face of Bollywood
Karisma Kapoor on Being a ‘Yummy Mummy’
Anupama: You’ve always been seen as the mass-appeal hero so when you signed films with directors Karan Johar and Vishal Bhardwaj, there was a lot of buzz about you becoming A-list and you always countered that with, ‘I don’t know what A-list means.’ Why?
Mr. Hashmi: I’ve never really understood the division. I was being accepted by the people I was accepted by and that was great for me. I was very happy my films were working. I am an actor so I wanted to do films with everyone. I started getting offers from people like Karan and Vishal and I thought ‘Let’s try this out too.’ It’s a very different kind of cinema. I can try to place myself in that world, play the character honestly and see where it goes from here.
Anupama: In Hollywood, a George Clooney will do a film like “Gravity” where Sandra Bullock is the lead, but here that film would be impossible to cast because a woman takes the lead. You are one of the few actors who would do a female-oriented film like “The Dirty Picture.” Why do you think actors here so reluctant to do so and what makes you different?
Mr. Hashmi: It comes from inner strength and it’s the way you see how women are portrayed onscreen. I loved “Gravity.” I admire what George Clooney has done. With the budgeting of a film like that, you had to have a star like George Clooney as a supporting actor to Sandra Bullock. If the script is good, if I find my character’s great, it’s never the length. And I think 90% of actors in our industry suffer from looking at the length, they’re looking at the impact through the length. They’re looking at who’s got the chunkier dialogues, who’s saying the last line in the scene. For me, it’s always been characters and story. That’s it, it starts and stops with that. I’m willing to do anything. That’s what drives me.
Anupama: You’ve said in an interview that you’re living the male fantasy, what every Indian man wants. So what does every Indian man want?
Mr. Hashmi: Serenading the lady in the first three or four scenes and stealing a kiss in the first meeting. Generally you have four love songs and then there’s a fade in to a kiss but this guy’s doing it in the first scene so he’s cutting to the chase [laughs.] I think that’s extremely aspirational to the audience.
Anupama: You’ve always been very forthright about not attending parties or award shows, but isn’t all that part of your job description?
Mr. Hashmi: Not really. I’ve gotten my films without that. Ten years is proof of that. I go for a couple of parties; you won’t find me at every film party and never at award ceremonies. I tried attending for the first three to four years and I’ve performed at award shows. I sat in them and I’ve also exited pretty fast from them. It’s just not my place. I’d rather get their adulation in a cinema hall.
Anupama: What is the Emraan Hashmi formula for success?
Mr. Hashmi: It starts and ends with the script. I like to give something new to the audience, not the run of the mill stuff. When 10 people tell you do something, do completely the opposite. That’s what I believe in. If you’re going to do something that everyone is saying or telling you to do, there are already 50 actors who are doing that, so why not pick up something that everyone’s not doing? It might not end up being that successful but at least you’re doing stuff that you believe in.
Watch “The Front Row with Anupama Chopra” Friday at 8:30 pm on Star World for the full conversation with Emraan Hashmi. For more details on the show log on to their website, follow them on Twitter @tfr2013 and on Facebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment