Emraan Hashmi opens up to Shrabasti Mallik about his take on Mohammad Azharuddin’s personality, how his personal experience of struggle helped him internalise the character and why he feels that his initial films established him as a brand
Accept it. When you hear of Emraan Hashmi, one of the first things that comes to your mind are images from the films that he did in the beginning of his career. And he does not regret doing them either. According to him, “Those films established me as a brand.” But he proved his mettle with a rustic character in Shanghai and followed it up with a very strong role in The Dirty Picture.
He is continuing that with his next, Azhar. From transforming himself physically to learning the nuances of the game, the actor has come a long way.
Excerpts from an interaction:
The movie is based on the life of Azharuddin. How demanding was it physically to get into the character of a sportspersonIJ
It was very challenging to learn the nuances of Azhar bhai like the leg glance and flip shots and opening up my wrists because he is a very wristy player and I was very tight all over probably because of my weight training. So, it was physically very demanding and I had to lose some weight for the initial matches because when Azharbhai was 21, he was very thin. I had to physically change form for the film and just doing about 100 to 120 throw balls every day for like three months. My wrists used to ache but I had to get it right in three months.
What kind of guidance did you get from himIJ
He guided me through the entire thing. I mean, he obviously could not teach me how to play because that is not possible. If someone asks you to tell them how you walk, you can’t tell them. You just walk the way you do. It was for me to gauge and study that, but as far as the support that he gave us, it was incredible. He has been with us since the first day, taught and trained me in the technicality of the sport, showed me the different shots that he played and then it was up to me to see that, read that, understand it and put it in the film.
He was involved in the filmmaking process, guiding you through it. What did you make of his personalityIJ
I think he is a very frank and sentimental person — someone who has been through a lot in his life. He has seen lots of ups and downs so he comes from a place of strength, and has an extreme amount of patience to deal with things and situations. These were the things that struck me first. After chatting with him for the first time and asking him questions about his life, his relationships and personal issues that he has had, I came to this conclusion.
How did your understanding of his controversial match-fixing allegations affect your performance or change your perception of the truthIJ
Well, he obviously opened his heart to us about what was going on in his mind during the entire match-fixing allegation episode and I feel that he comes from a place of great strength because his career was snatched from him when he was at the top and for 12 years he fought this case. I know people are judgemental about it and say that he took the money and had fixed matches but then again that is very presumptuous of people. I think we follow the judicial system and should say that he was acquitted by the court for whatever reasons and on whatever grounds. Now he is a free man and has no allegations on him, and as a fan I was just waiting for the day for the verdict to come out. I was very happy back in 2012, and happy to be playing this role. Also, I have faced similar obstacles, well not exactly similar, in my life and that has helped me internalise the character and understand what turmoils the character goes through and what Azhar bhai went through.
Of late a lot of movies are being made on the life of sportspersons — Azharuddin, MS Dhoni, one on Sachin and also on Pele. Do you feel that it is important for the tales of a sportsperson to be narratedIJ
I think it is very important that these stories are told and it is interesting, too. It gives people a benchmark and kind of a relative aspect when they follow someone’s life and it is always a good draw for the audience. It is a more immersive experience and an emotional journey because they have already invested emotions with that particular sportsperson. So I think it is a great trend.
Do you not think that it invades the privacy of the person whose life is being portrayedIJ
Well, if they (the sportsperson) are ok with it then it is not an invasion of their privacy. If you make a film without their consent that infringes on privacy. But Azhar bhai has given us the story of his complete life so there is no issue of invasion into his personal space.
How pressurising is it to portray a living personIJ
It is very easy actually, in many ways, because you have a direct access to them and you have some kind of benchmark to go by and a reference point, too. But it is difficult to actually do it. Moreover, it is easier said than done to kind of follow things and pull off the nuances of the person — what they do and how they do it and finally giving the perfect shot.
You have been in the industry for quite some time now. How have you seen Bollywood changing in terms of content, performance and also the viewers’ acceptabilityIJ
I think Indian cinema is changing largely because of the audience — because of the impact of globalisation and of influences in cinema, literature, and many creative fields. It has broadened and expanded their way of thinking and I think we can make more kind of films and explore more genres and the audience will lap it up — something that was impossible, or rather what we felt impossible, a few years or a decade ago. Maybe we were taking the audience for granted at that point of time but I do feel that the audience does not know what they really want to see till they see it and now that they are getting it, they are accepting and endorsing a lot of different stuff. So I think it is a really great time for cinema.
Where do you see Indian cinema going, considering where it is right nowIJ
I think it has a great momentum. A lot of experimentation are being done, a lot of new filmmakers are coming to the fore and technicality is getting better with each passing year and it is a great time for our cinema because we are dabbling with different genres and different subjects. We are taking risky bets on films and newcomers. I think it’s a great time ahead.
Most of your movies have been romance-based and few movies of late have been performance oriented. Do you think that is a clutter breaker in the kind of films that you are currently doingIJ
Yes. See, actors always test themselves with something new and try to do something new — something that they have not done before. It is one thing to do it to keep your kitchen running and another thing to be satisfied, pat yourself on the back and say that you have done something challenging, coming out of your comfort zone. An actor has to be always up for that. Everything is not just about Box Office, sometimes you have got to do these small films where your role is performance driven like I did Shanghai. It was like really testing my limits.
Do you feel that the films that you did in the beginning of your career did not do justice to your career and capabilitiesIJ
There are different kind of films and different kind of audiences. The first few of my films tapped a different kind of audience, which is great. But as far as acting goes what put me to test were movies like Shanghai, Once Upon a time in Mumbai and The Dirty Picture. I am happy that I finally got to do these films. But till today, I stand by films like Murder and all the films that I did early on in my career because that has helped me establish a brand for myself. After that, it was time to move on to different things.
What are the movies in the pipelineIJ
Raaz 4 is on the floors right now. The shooting is complete and the movie will probably release in September.
photo Pankaj Kumar