'I'D LIKE TO DO A PERIOD OR SCI-FI FILM'

The familiar genres take a back seat, with Emraan Hashmi looking for newer challenges as an actor

The genres that Emraan Hashmi is best known for are horror, modern urban drama, and action. The actor now wants to expand the range of his filmography and steer clear of horror for a while. What would stir his creative juices at this point is a period film or a sci-fi movie.

Emraan, who’ll soon start shooting for his home production, Cheat India, says, “If there’s an interesting period film script, I’d definitely do it. I’m always game for it. Another unexplored genre in our country is science fiction; not many of them have done well (when made earlier). But a well-written sci-fi film, if it has great special effects, would do a tremendous amount of business. It’s unexplored terrain, so anything that’s great on paper, with a subject that’s unique, should work.”

Considering the number of blockbuster Hollywood films going ‘ker-ching!’ at the Indian box office, and also the ever-increasing availability of top quality digital content, is all this posing a challenge for Hindi cinema? Emraan, whose kitty currently includes another film with a major banner, says, “I think even regional films are a challenge. For that matter, Hindi films are also a challenge for other Hindi films. You have dime-adozen films releasing on any weekend. And yes, the online streaming channels or even cricket (on TV) makes it a cluttered space. So if you don’t have a damn good film, the audience is not interested.”

The actor adds that there are fewer chances of a mediocre film doing well in theatres these days, because the word spreads really fast through social media. He elaborates on this view: “It just takes a matter of hours for a film to get ratted out on social media, which 10 years ago would have taken more than a week. Now, in a couple of hours, people know if it’s a trashy film and they end up cancelling their tickets after seeing reviews.” EMRAAN HASHMI

A wellwritten scifi film, if it has great special effects, would do a tremendous amount of business. It’s unexplored terrain...

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