On his own

He isn8217;t your regular hero and the snooty lot of the film industry does little to acknowledge his success.

He isn8217;t your regular hero and the snooty lot of the film industry does little to acknowledge his success. But when it comes to box-office performance and critics8217; verdict, Emraan Hashmi is far from ignored. Yet, the actor chooses not to join the bandwagon of commercial stardom.

Seated on a couch in his muted living room, Hashmi, with apparent cynicism, talks about his devil-may-care attitude towards mainstream cinema. 8220;I find the plots of such films very substandard; I know many would say the same about my films. But I grew up watching different8212;more western8212;cinema; the Khans or other Bollywood stars have never been my reference point. So I do films that they probably never will.8221;

His next is Raaz8212;The Mystery Continues, is a horror flick, and again, an off-beat genre. Hashmi plays the character of a painter who can predict future through his art. Through one of his works he is able to foresee that Nandita Kangana Ranaut will be possessed by the unnatural. 8220;Rohit is aware of his powers but can do little to control things. It8217;s like Spiderman8212;it8217;s his gift, it8217;s his curse,8221; explains the actor who has a penchant for dark, reclusive characters.

8220;I was very excited when Mohit Suri, director offered me the film. Horror8217;s my favourite genre,8221; he says and lets out a smile. He accepts that horror is risky business and that Bollywood has little to boast of in that category but Hashmi trusts his director8217;s sensibilities.

The film is the union of his clique8212;director friend Suri, the Bhatts as producers and his co-star Kangana Ranaut. 8220;It takes a great team to make a good film. I have a lot to thank the Bhatts for; they8217;re the ones who launched me,8221; says the reticent actor. Talking about his co-star, he acknowledges the chemistry they bring on. 8220;Like me, she does mad characters.8221;

The film is slated to release mid-January but the music is already topping the charts, especially the track Mahi. And the industry is abuzz with murmurs that it8217;s Hashmi8217;s lucky charm that8217;s worked again.

But the actor laughs it off and gives the technicians the due credit. 8220;I8217;ve been fortunate that all my films have had at least a track or two that were chartbusters but the music directors and sound guys should be complimented for that.8221;

Story continues below this ad

Hashmi, however, does not deny his belief in superstitions. 8220;I added an extra 8216;a8217; to my name and since then things have been good.8221; The entrance of his house bears a huge Turkish evil eye and other Feng Shui charms. 8220;I don8217;t do anything on dates that add up to eight. I8217;m that insane,8221; he laughs.

His reputation as 8216;serial-kisser8217; precedes him and, naturally, Hashmi has had enough. 8220;I stopped three films ago but people just can8217;t stop talking about that,8221; he says, exasperated but then breaks into soft laughter. 8220;I guess it8217;s one of those things I8217;ll take to my tombstone. It will read: Emraan Hashmi8212;Kissed from 1979 to so-and-so date.8221;