‘THE SERIAL KISSER TAG HELPED ME A LOT’

Actor Emraan Hashmi says that it wasn’t something he was running away from; he tried making the best of it

Emraan Hashmi is one of those Bollywood celebrities who are never afraid of speaking their mind. He may have been tagged as a ‘serial-kisser’ in the beginning of his career, but the actor has no reason to shy away from talking about it. “A number of my films in which I was shown kissing did very well in the beginning of my career. So that tag naturally became a part of me. People like to label and box things up, and you just can’t hold that against them. And frankly, this was not something I was running away from. I will be honest. I have benefited a lot from it,” says the actor.

After all these years, Emraan feels that now it’s time to do away with the tag, as in the long run, it can restrict his growth as an actor. “When you evolve as an actor and try to explore new and varied avenues, the tag becomes sort of a deterrent for you. People tend to like you more in a particular kind of role. But for every actor, there is a saturation point. I think I have reached it now, and need to find new kind of roles,” says the 38-year old, who will be seen in the thriller Baadshaho, which releases on September 1.

The makers of the multistarrer film, which also features actors Ajay Devgn, Ileana D’Cruz and Esha Gupta, recently released the first song, which has been climbing up the charts. But what every Emraan fan is looking forward to is the song Piya More, which will be out tomorrow. The song pairs Emraan with actor Sunny Leone for the first time. Emraan is all praise for the 36-year old actor. “Sunny is a thorough professional. I segregate actors into two types — ones who are constantly fussy about everything on the sets, and the others who are okay with everything, without any fusses. I think she comes under the second category. It was an absolute joy shooting with her, since she’s a much better dancer than I am!” says Emraan.

People like to label things. And frankly, this was not something I was running away from. I will be honest. I have benefited a lot from it EMRAAN HASHMI, ACTOR