'Kiss is lucky for my films': Emraan Hashmi

Emraan Hashmi wants to shed his ' serial kisser' tag, but admits he can' t do without kissing scenes. The actor in conversation with India Blooms correspondent Sreya Basu in Kolkata

Now that ' Tum Mile' is getting such huge audience response, why is that all your films under Vishesh Films banner become instant hits?

(Smiles) May be because it' s family!

But you rejected ' Tum Mile' more than once…

Actually when Kunal Deshmukh (director) narrated me the script (he wanted it to be his debut film), I loved the script. I didn' t exactly say ' no' to him, but said better not make this script with anyone else because I want to do this role. But at that time of my career my films were not doing very well and I thought a film like this needs a certain amount of budget. I thought let' s make a cost-effective film, a hard-hitting, high concept film (' Jannat' ) first and then we can do more justice to ' Tum Mile' , especially with the producer having more money in his pocket.

But I didn' t realize the amount of exhaustion that will follow after saying ' yes' to the film. Every day, before going into the stagnant dirty water to shoot for the film, I used to invent new bad words for Kunal. But ultimately the film shaped up as we wanted and the audience reaction says that our efforts are not wasted.

You are looking quite fit now-a-days. So are you getting ready for a six-pack abs?
Yeah…I was not fit sometime before…I became a little fat…got some flab in my abs. Then, one fine day, I wanted to get a six-pack abs. I said ' yes' to my trainer, but it' s very difficult to abide by the regime. I am sure when you see my new look after a month' s time, you will be a pleasantly shocked and say-' Arre, Emraan bhi aisa dikh sakta hai!'

Much has been said about your obsession with gluten-free diet…
Gluten (a special type of protein that is commonly found in most types of cereals and many types of bread) is the single most destructive thing if you are trying to loose weight. So I try to check out the Gluten content in every food item, before having them.

After marriage you said you won' t do kissing scenes. But we don' t think you are abiding by your promise…
How will I earn my bread-and-butter if I don' t do kissing scenes!

So you are breaking your promise?

Actually I didn' t promise her (Parveen Shahni) anything. I came and told the press. But there was a film where I didn' t kiss (' Good Boy Bad Boy' ) and that film flopped. So I had to get back with my on-screen kissing.

You think kisses are important for the success of your films?

Kiss is lucky for my films; even my producers and directors feel the same way.

How many times have you kissed on-screen?

I stopped counting after my third film (laughs).

Will you ever act in a film that' s for family audience?

' Tum Mile' is my first Universal film (U/A)…I think its good enough. Before this, all my films normally got ' A' certificates. So slowly I am getting to that point.


' Tum Mile' is about live-in relationships. In real life, what will you vote for-live together or marriage?
I am a married man. I never had a live-in relationship. But I think it has become very normal for today' s youth. They no longer shy away from this kind of relations. I know that my father and mother even today don' t understand the concept of live-in relationship and they can' t comprehend that ' aisa bhi ho sakta hai' (even this kind of an association is possible).

How has marriage changed you?

As I keep saying it' s a miracle that Parveen agreed to marry someone like me, who is actually very difficult to live with. Getting married is really a difficult decision and a huge responsibility. But then, it gives you a sense of permanence and belonging. It restores the calm within you.

Are you excited about your would-be fatherhood?

Fatherhood is scarier than marriage…you helped create a life and you have to make sure that you don' t fail in carrying out your responsibilities life-long. Being a dad is one of the most precious moments in a man' s life, but then it is not easy.