‘My talent was not recognised’

The actor,however,in a white shirt,beige trousers and a beard,hardly bore resemblance to his on-screen character when he visited Express Towers,Nariman Point,for the Screen Chatroom a few days ago. For him,Shanghai is amongst his most defining films yet. “People from various schools of thought came together: Dibakar,Kalki (Koechlin),Abhay (Deol) and Prosenjit (Chatterjee),so the atmosphere on the sets was refreshing and very un-Bollywood-like,” he said.

With his recent films,including Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai and The Dirty Picture,Hashmi seems to have left behind the comfort zone provided by his mentors,the Bhatts’ Vishesh Films. In fact,Mahesh Bhatt recently claimed that having made Hashmi a star who has now flown the nest,their production house will nurture other such talent.

The actor laughed when quizzed about the same,adding,“Bhatt saab is theatrical with his quotes. I have always wanted to do films with different filmmakers and it makes business sense for them to also work with others since I have quite a few films lined up with other banners. But I am their ‘ghar ka hero’ and will continue to work with Vishesh Films; Raaz 3 is my next release.”

On Hashmi’s CV,however,Raaz 3 will be followed by Raj Kumar Gupta’s Ghanchakkar,Vishal Bhardwaj’s Daayan,a co-production between Karan Johar and Ekta Kapoor,to be directed by Rensil D’Silva with Deepika Padukone as the female lead. While he chose to keep mum about the ambitious Dharma-Balaji film,the 33-year-old says that he plays a lock-picker in Gupta’s comedy.

“My character is from a middle-class family with a penchant for finer things in life. He plans his one last heist but things begin to go horribly wrong. The film then explores his relationship with his wife,played by Vidya Balan,in the comic space,” said Hashmi. In Daayan,a film that explores magic realism,he yet again inhabits dark shades in his character to play a magician.

However,Hashmi played down his recently-acquired star status. “Some people lack acting credentials but have a flashy personal life and change girlfriends every month,which makes them saleable. I want my work to speak for me,” he points out.

Even though Hashmi disses the star culture,the very traces of it seep into the conversation. “My talent was not recognised until recently,instead the steamy elements in my films were attributed for their box-office success,” he said,adding,“People have woken up late to my talent; it is their loss,not mine.”