'Taskaree' star Emraan Hashmi opens up on his ‘serial kisser’ image: 'I juiced it to the hilt'

Emraan Hashmi has been part of the film industry for more than two decades now, but the tag of “serial kisser” still follows him. Even though Hashmi has played diverse characters and proved his mettle, time and again, the 'Taskaree' actor recounted in a recent interview on how people still bring up the much-discussed and famed kissing scenes from his early movies.

Emraan Hashmi addressed this label and revealed how he himself had milked it to the hilt, to his benefit.

Emraan Hashmi on his journey from debut to fame

The actor stepped into Bollywood with ‘Footpath’ in 2003, but it was ‘Murder’ in 2004 that truly brought him into the limelight. His chemistry with Mallika Sherawat and their bold on-screen moments created quite a stir. Over the next few years, Emraan became known for his intense thrillers and a “bad boy” image that the media couldn’t stop talking about, ultimately earning the tag of “serial kisser.”

Looking back, in an interview with Hindustan Times, Hashmi admits that the label actually helped his career. He shared that they were commercial successes, and he was also raking in that image.

They were playing up to it through the marketing. The press was on it.“They were commercial successes, and I was also raking in that image. We were playing up to it through the marketing. The press was in on it,” revealed Hashmi.

Emraan Hashmi on realising the need to change

Over time, Hashmi began to feel that repeating similar roles was no longer enough. Observing a shift in audience tastes, he decided it was the right moment to evolve as an actor. “After a decade of doing it, I realised that the audience changes. They say, every 10 to 14 years, it switches. The next generation comes to the theatres. It's very important to reinvent yourself for that fresh audience. And every character, every mould, reaches the saturation point.

You can only juice it out as much. And I realised I juiced it to the hilt, yeah. So it was very important to me to switch,” Hashmi added.

Emraan Hashmi on breaking out of his old image

Trying to move beyond his earlier persona, Emraan redefined himself with films like ‘Jannat’, where he played a passionate lover, and later with intense, character-driven performances in ‘Awarapan’ and ‘Shanghai’. Despite those efforts and the passing of many years, the shadow of his old image still follows him.

“What happens is that when you have such a strong image, especially in a very conservative society like India, they will still hold on to it.

Like, if you see people from the press conference the other day, there was still a question about the kiss that pops up. But that's India. They are still obsessed with it,” he says.

Emraan Hashmi on the importance of reinvention

Reflecting on his journey, Emraan says that the only way to truly evolve as an actor is by constantly exploring new genres and stepping out of one’s comfort zone. He shared, “You have to go out there and just play on the front foot and do something to at least show your versatility. Just go out there and be daring with the stuff that you're doing.”

Emraan Hashmi’s latest project ‘Taskaree’

On the work front, Emraan Hashmi’s latest appearance came in Neeraj Pandey’s ‘Taskaree: The Smuggler's Web’, where he portrayed an upright customs officer. Also featuring

Sharad Kelkar

and

Zoya Afroz

in key roles, the Netflix series dropped on January 19.