His last couple of films haven’t worked. His image as an erotic thriller star is on the wane. So it’s time for Emraan Hashmi to go invisible! t2 met the actor at a Mumbai star hotel to know more about this switch from Mr Kiss to 
Mr. X.

Was it a tricky shoot, playing an invisible man?

It was very easy! My shoot dates were limited. If a regular film needs me for 90 days, Mr. X needed me for 60 days. In sequences where I have to come and go, appear and disappear, I wasn’t required. The main work was put in by the VFX team.

There is an underwater ‘invisible’ kiss where only your face outline is seen. Was that the starting point of Mr. X? How to make Emraan Hashmi kiss differently?

I guess... this is what was left! Also, I haven’t kissed mid-air yet. You know, jumping out of a plane and kissing. I have done one under water, in Gangster. But for this particular one, I wasn’t even there. It was my 3D model having fun! So you have to ask Amyra (Dastur, the leading lady of Mr. X) what she thought of the kiss. But I can assure you it was nothing close to what it would have been if I were there.

When there’s so much exposure all around and Sunny Leone is a leading lady now, why do you think an Emraan Hashmi kiss is still such a rage?

I believe there is no shock value in it. Never was. Initially they used to talk about my kissing in hushed tones. Then it was accepted. Then it was awaited. Now everyone does it. All the young stars are kissing away. As far as audiences go, the youngsters are completely easy about it. But say someone like my father walks into the theatre and sees me kissing on screen, he will cringe. Even though he’s seen me kiss in every film of mine.

What about your wife (Parveen Shahani)? She must have got used to the kissing by now?

No, she still cringes. Always cringes. And slaps too. But she’s become more numb to it over the years. Not accepting, but numb.

Is your kissing also the reason you have never shown any of your films to your son and Mr. X will be the first one?

Yes. Mr. X has got a U/A certificate. My films usually always get an adult certificate. So I can’t show them to Ayaan. This one has two kisses. One is that underwater kiss where I had no role to play. And for the other kiss, where I am there, I have to explain to my son that she is not your second mom! I think the whole 3D experience, the invisibility, the effects... he will like it. He is really enamoured with this whole vanishing act. For all kids it will be quite a draw.

But will parents bring their kids to watch an Emraan Hashmi film?

I think they will be a little tentative for sure. But word trickles out by Saturday... that it’s okay to take your kids for this film. They might not come on a Friday but once word spreads that it’s not erotic like my earlier films, they will come in on Saturday and Sunday.

Is it a conscious switch to a more family genre?

It is. All the erotic thrillers that I had done, I think they have played their role. There’s a tipping point for everything. For me also, it’s time to move on. Move on to things that I would want to do.
Mr. X I wanted to do on just the one-liner –– story of an invisible man. There’s Hamari Adhuri Kahaani after this. A love story. And then the Azhar biopic
which is about cricket. It’s interesting for me to play these new characters, so different from what I was doing.

Hamari Adhuri Kahaani is your big reunion with Mohit Suri and Vidya Balan. How has that shaped up?

A couple of people have seen it and they’ve loved it. I am yet to see it. I had sworn that I would never do a romantic film in my life. Because I have never been the conventional romantic type. But apparently some people have liked what they have seen. “Where was this part of you?” they asked me. It’s going to be a welcome change for people to see me in that avatar. It’s a very emotional film.

You have been playing cricket with Mohammed Azharuddin himself. How has that experience been?

Yes, he flies down for the practice. He’s been extremely generous in teaching me cricket. We have been doing it for the last couple of months. We almost play 50 overs every day. He’s a very wristy player. To get his leg glance right, I have damaged my wrist a couple of times! I have stopped working out because of the film. Because it’s a very different kind of physical form.

Why is your film with Danis (No Man’s Land) Tanovic, Tigers, not releasing in theatres?

It is going through the festival circuit. We have to first sit together and decide how we can push it in the Indian market. It is going to be a challenge. Also, it is a very controversial film, since it deals with baby food formula. So it has to be handled with a lot of care and a lot of planning. It’s not a mass subject and you have made it with a mass actor. The internal discussions are still going on.

Your last two releases failed at the box office. Have you analysed what went wrong?

I know what went wrong with Ungli. It just released at the wrong time. There were unforeseen delays with the film. There were delays with the edit, with the music and then unfortunately Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) went to jail. We’ve had a lot of hurdles with that film. It would have done well if it had released in 2013, when people in our country were extremely disgruntled with all the corruption stories around us. But the film ended up releasing after the elections when there was an air of optimism and everyone was content with things.

What about Raja Natwarlal? 

I don’t know why that one didn’t work. I am sure every actor has one or two films in his career in which he cannot explain the failure. I saw the film and found it to be brilliant. It’s just one of those mysteries.

Can brand Emraan Hashmi exist minus the kissing? Tell t2@abp.in