PicShik Blog

From Jannat , Emraan Hashmi is set to take a plunge into the Mumbai underworld.

The actor is said to be in consideration for director Milan Luthria’s film Once Upon A Time In Mumbai which will be jointly produced by Ekta Kapoor and Sunil Shetty . The movie will be a crime thriller based in the underworld in the 1980s and its plot will reportedly have real life characters like Haji Mastan, Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan.

While Sanjay Dutt has been finalized to play the role of Mastan, Emraan Hashmi is under consideration for the part of Dawood.

Producer Sunil Shetty says Dutt suited the role of the gangster in the film to a T. While Milan Luthria has expressed his sincere wish to work with Emraan, whom he considers a talented actor.

The movie will not just focus on the underworld in the 1980s but also see its evolution through the years to the present day of its nexus with international terrorist networks.

Just one query, Milan? Will the don in the film be allowed to kiss? How else would dear Emi manage!

Believe it or not but Emraan Hashmi has become a huge craze in Pakistan. At the world premiere of Jannat in Lahore, there was a stampede to get a grab of the dazed ‘serial kisser’ from Mumbai.

If Jannat is the unlikely hit of the year (unlikely, because hero Emraan Hashmi has had a flop run for the last two years and Jannat itself is not the best from the Bhatt stable), there was clever strategy at work backstage.

Another surprise: Mahesh is not the only quotable Bhatt in the family. Here’s the rarely-heard Mukesh Bhatt, matching his outspoken older brother, word for word.

For a producer whose films have a certain polish, his office is amazingly overcrowded, in a tacky sort of way, like a chaotic municipal ward. But the two brothers in their rooms upstairs remain insulated from the mess below. Satisfaction hangs in the air, there’s energy in the upbeat atmosphere.

“It is a very satisfying feeling,” acknowledges Mukesh, the financial brain of the Bhatt family team. “It’s our own Sicilian clan with Mahesh Bhatt as Don Corleone,” cracks Mukesh Bhatt as he discloses how they went about creating Emraan Hashmi, the star.

“Four or five years ago we launched this boy called Emraan Hashmi and consistently backed him. Then he got lost by doing films for outsiders, very bad films like Jawani Diwani and Dil Diya, including Mr Subhash Ghai’s Good Boy Bad Boy which was disastrous. It undid all the good we had done.”

“Last year, we took a firm decision that Emraan won’t do any outside film without consulting us. Fortunately, he listened to us. He had burnt his fingers and learnt his lesson. Now, after Jannat, he is getting an average of 10 offers a day. Emraan Hashmi charges a fee of Rs 5 crore today and there’s no guarantee that he’ll do your film even if you do pay him that money.

“We have certain conditions before he’ll do a film. It has to be a solo film, he won’t do two-hero and multi star cast films. The story should revolve around him, he should be the protagonist and the film has to be made by a reputed banner which won’t compromise with the making or promotion of the film.”

Warming up to how the Bhatt family put together this hit project called Emraan Hashmi, Mukesh boasts, “One sane decision that Emraan has taken is to listen to me. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t be in the position he is in today.” Thank you, Mukesh Chacha. Not only for bullying your nephew for his own good but also for making and promoting Jannat so aggressively that an average product turned out to be the biggest winner of the first half of 2008.

We didn’t just get lucky with Jannat, it was intended to be a hit,” Mukesh unabashedly thrusts out his chest. “My brother and I have the confidence to stand on our own feet. We don’t need the crutches of a star to see us through a Friday.

“In 2000, when we saw the trend of stars getting irrational prices, we took a conscious decision not to work with any stars. Believe me, our best period started from 2000.”

Look at the statistics:

“In 2001, I made Kasoor, the only silver jubilee hit that Aftab Shivdasani has had in his entire life.

“In 2002, we made a film with two newcomers called Dino Morea and Bipasha Basu, the latter was a vamp in her earlier film Ajnabee and she was the heroine of our film, Raaz.

“In 2003, once again we made a film with a new boy called John Abraham and made a hit film called Jism.

“In 2004, we gave the biggest hit of the year with Murder.

“In 2005, we had Zeher, a silver jubilee success.

“In 2006, we launched Kangana Ranaut with Gangster.

“In 2008, we’ve got Jannat.”

After challenging the star system, Mukesh now takes on finance minister P. Chidambaram. “The cost of film-making has escalated because, thanks to Chidambaram, there’s a service tax on everything. Whether you make money or not, the government makes the maximum out of you. It’s a one-way street. The worst things to have happened to the country are the Congress and Chidambaram.

“In every budget, Chidambaram looks at us like we don’t exist. In spite of that we (as an industry) are surviving for which the credit should go to us, not him. If he had his way, he’d have killed us long back!”

A big welcome to the latest refreshingly outspoken Bhatt.

Buoyed by the success of “Jannat”, Percept Picture Company (PPC), which released the film, has signed on the leading man Emran Hashmi for a three-film deal worth Rs.150 million.What should warm the cockles of the actor is that the PPC agreed to the price he demanded - Rs.50 million per movie.So, his deal with the PPC is the biggest ever Hashmi has signed so far. After the deal was signed Thursday, the PPC’s joint managing director Shailendra Singh said: “We are very happy to have Emran Hashmi on board. We believe his performances are consistently improving and he has the potential to make a difference to our future line-up with leading directors.” Obviously, Hashmi could not have been happier for the faith reposed on him by a leading distribution and production company.

“All I can say is that I am delighted. Whatever I have achieved in films so far has largely been because of the Bhatts. So, a fair share of all the appreciation that I am getting today should also go to them,” the actor remarked after signing the deal.

The PPC has also taken on board directors like Priydarshan, David Dhawan and Nagesh Kukunoor.

“We want to produce all genres of comedy, be it comedy, supernatural thriller, drama, romance and action. So we are signing directors who can justify making these divergent genres of films,” Singh said.

Singh hinted that Emran Hashmi may be cast in one of David Dhawan’s movies for the PPC.

After the successes of “Khuda Ke Liye” and “Jannat,” the PPC is now on the look out for acquiring talent to take it production portfolio to the next level.

Post the super success of their last film, JANNAT, the team of Vishesh Films and their in-house hero Emraan Hashmi have already moved on to their next.
The queen of hills, Shimla, welcomed the hit pair of Emraan Hashmi and Kangna Ranaut (GANGSTER), who is at present in Himachal capital to shoot for RAAZ 2. The Himachal portion of the much talked about sequel to the super hit, Vikram Bhatt’s RAAZ (which starred Bipasha Basu and Dino Morea) commenced in the picturesque town of Shimla and its beautiful surroundings. The local girl, Kangna Ranaut (she is from Manali), appeared to be at home and looked really happy to be back in her home state. On Friday, the lead pair shot for various scenes (mostly horror/emotional) at the famous British Resort. On Saturday, director Mohit Suri picturised a few romantic scenes, the location being the picturesque Naldehra and its world famous golf course. Kangna and Emraan intermingled freely with the tourists obliging them with autographs.The unit will stay on for a few more days before moving on to Kangna’s home town, Manali.

The serial kisser is back. He is not the one who can Murder you with your looks but his panache makes girls scream Ashique Banaya Apne. Sreya Basu catches up with the Bollywood Gangster…oopps, rockster. Emraan Hashmi on the latest in his life and career. Let’s start with your latest release Jannat. Jannat is a love story with the background of cricket and the dark alleys of the game. The subject is contemporary where heaven is all about money, luxury and crime.

Are you comfortable playing a hero with negative attributes?
Generally in Hindi films we take it for granted that a hero should be all white a character while it’s the villain who will portray a black character.In this film I play a grey character that people can relate to. After all none of us are all white or black, but grey. The first half of the film portrays Arjun (my character in Jannat), a reckless youth obsessed with moneymaking and in the process gets into cricket betting and match fixing racket.But in the later half audience will know about the circumstances that led him to this racket and they will feel sorry for him.

You play a match fixer in the film. How have you prepared yourself for your character?
I met a few cricket bookies in Mumbai to get a better understanding of their life and life style. Besides I read all the cricket betting controversies that took place in the last 30 years.

Is Jannat deliberately released during the IPL?
It was not deliberate but it’s good that the film is released during the IPL. Cricket betting is something that you can never put on check.

Bengali singer Rupam Islam has sang in this film. Any comments?
Rupam is a fabulous singer and his song Jannat jahan has added a new flavour to the film.

Why is that you always work with the Bhatts (even Jannat is produced by Mukesh Bhatt)?
First they are my family and hence I feel at home working for them. Secondly Bhatts make films that are socially appealing and different at the same time.

You said you will never kiss on-screen. But Jannat has two kissing scenes. Any comment?
I am sorry that by mistake I said I will never kiss on-screen.

So you are back to your serial kisser image?
Every actor kisses on and off-screen. But only Emraan Hashmi gets projected as a serial kisser by the media. Whether it is a joke or something serious, I am cool with it.

Every song of all your films is a super hit. What is the secret behind it?
Credit goes to my music directors, singers and lyricists. But at the same time I am very particular about my songs. Role kaisa bhi ho gaane achche hone chahiye.

What are the films in the pipeline?
At this moment there is only one film-Raaz 2. It is a horror film directed by Mohit Suri. Kangana Ranaut is the lead lady in the film.

Friday saw the release of Bhatt camp’s ‘Jannat’ which revolves around match fixing in cricket. The makers of the film went on for a pre-release bash for the cast and crew of the film on May 15. Also celebrating the debutante actress Sonal Chauhan’s birthday, the party continued till late night. It was here that Emraan brought in his creativity. Attired in a cool white T-shirt, Emraan had eyeballs popping due to the funky slogan on his T-shirt which read “IFL. - Indian Fixed League- starts May 16”. Now, that is a real unique way of drawing attention both to oneself and to the film!

One look at Emraan Hashmi’s filmography and you know that the young man loves to do films which aren’t too crowded for comfort.With Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘Chocolate’ as an exception which had Anil Kapoor, Suneil Shetty, Arshad Warsi and Irrfan Khan for his company, Emraan has mainly done two/single hero projects.While ‘Murder’ (Ashmit Patel), ‘Gangster’ (Shiney Ahuja), ‘Good Boy Bad Boy’ (Tusshar Kapoor) and ‘Aksar’ (Dino Morea) did have another male lead sharing screen space, Emraan still managed to tower above his contemporaries in most of the projects.Now his upcoming ‘Jannat’ is a solo hero project, just as ‘Awarapan’ and ‘The Train’ were last year. Is it a conscious move?”More than being termed as a conscious move, I would term it is a well thought move”, says Emraan after a brief pause, “For me the film should work for me and I should be able to work for the film. It has to be mutual.”Please elaborate. “I don’t want to be a part of a multi starrer for the heck of it. I mean it shouldn’t be the way that ‘if Emraan Hashmi is in the film, it becomes bigger, so let’s add him on.’ There should be substance and a reason behind my inclusion”, adds Emraan Hashmi.Continuing in a confident tone, Emraan also shares another thought, “Also, the film should be able to sell on my name too.I don’t want to be a part of the situation where a film has a big name as it’s selling factor with Emraan Hashmi as an added attraction. Sorry, I may rather have my film as an Emraan Hashmi, even if that means going solo.”"There is no point in joining the fray just because so many other leads around me seem to be doing that. A package film is good as long as it has good share for everyone involved. The moment one has to struggle and fight for something like this, it ceases to be a worthwhile exercise.”Concludes Emraan Hashmi, “I am here to do great roles. ‘Jannat’ is one of them and yes, it is a solo hero film. If I get a script which surprises me, even though it requires a multi starrer set up, I would jump on it. Ultimately, what matters is a project which gives me an ample opportunity to demonstrate my acting capabilities.”

Mythology says that the place where you have a mole attracts its corresponding actions in abundance. For example, if you have a mole on your palm, you’re bound to attract money in abundance, mole on your tongue attracts sweet flow of words so on and so forth. Here is one man who we feel is blessed with not one, but multitudes of moles on his lips.Emraan Hashmi, Bollywood’s very Brand Ambassador of ‘kiss’ whom no Miss (and even Mrs.) would ever want to miss. As today is the day when the man with the most envied destiny was born, join us in wishing the ‘one of his kind’ superstar, Emraan Hashmi, a very Happy Birthday by posting your messages below. Do we really need to mentions that besides your messages you can include your love and hugs and Yesss! Your kisses also, (as if u didn’t know)! All these days he was making your day now, its your turn to make the ‘Killer’s’ day by boarding ‘The Train’ that takes you to Emraan’s ‘Jannat’.

2006 was an eventful year for Emraan Hashmi. Though he had three releases to his name (GOOD BOY BAD BOY, THE TRAIN, AWARAPAN), only AWARAPAN worked in his favor as it brought him immense critical acclaim. Close to a year after his last release, Emraan gets ready with his latest film JANNAT, yet again with Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt. Joginder Tuteja catches up with the young man to know more about his first release of 2008 - JANNAT

Q: What character do you potray in JANNAT?

A: The character I play in JANNAT has a whacky and mischievous shades. It is an author backed role. How my character changes from being a street side gambler to that of a man who operates at an international platform brings a completely diverse state of affairs. It is an exciting journey for him in quest of JANNAT as he gets sucked deeper and deeper into the world of cricket

.Q: JANNAT has a lot going along with it - match fixing, betting, Bob Woolmer episode, Azhar and Jadeja scandals. Is there anything more as well?
A: See, references to number of elements that you mention are there in the film though we are not naming any people. JANNAT is not a docu-drama where we start showing the events the way they happened. We are not picking up stars and icons and making their life public. We are here to tell a tale which would certainly have fictional elements as well while keeping the commercial prospects of the film in mind.

Q: Isn’t there any fear of censors or any other body?
A: I don’t think that censors would have any objections to JANNAT. As I said, we are not picking up people at all. We are talking about things which have actually happened, have been talked about and are generic in nature. Everyone knows to a good extent what really had transpired.

Q: This means JANNAT would boast of yet another shock-fest from the house of Bhatts?
A: Oh, absolutely, you can expect shock value from JANNAT. The good part about the film is that the shock value of the subject is quite relevant even today. In fact if we look closely, in the months gone by, sports have been glorified in Bollywood cinema. CHAK DE INDIA is a living example. Here the world of cricket and what happens beneath will be the focal point of the movie. The film will also bring to light other issues around cricket. (Laughs) Thankfully the post World Cup slump period is over and cricket is back to riding high with India’s win over Australia.

Q: With the film having cricket as a backdrop, what part does a leading lady have to play?
A: In building the character graph of the protagonist, it is essential to showcase the relationships he has shared in his life. Why just this film, even if you look at a film which belongs to the horror genre, it is but natural to have a basic premise of a man-woman relationship. There is no point getting away from that. In the film too, the girl plays an important role in the protagonist’s journey in the quest for JANNAT. Newcomer Sonal Chauhan is being launched with JANNAT and she has done a very good job in the film.

Q: Other than Sonal Chauhan, even film’s director Kunal Deshmukh is a newcomer. How was the experience being a veteran on the sets?
A: This may be Kunal’s first film as an independent director but he is not a novice. He has assisted Mohit Suri in 3-4 films. He has done a phenomenal job in the film and that pretty much comes from the fact that he is a die hard cricket fanatic. He knows in and out about the film’s subject and has done a thorough research. There was a certain look he wanted to give to the film and I am proud to see the way he has accomplished that.

Q: How exactly?A: Well, he has got a love story imbibed well into the script even as the film has a basic wallpaper of cricket. Even though he is a debutant director, you hardly get a feel that he is handling a project for the first time. For certain projects you get a feel that things are going quite right. Positive vibes get generated, you know. JANNAT is one of those projects

“If you thought that the music of Gangster and Awarapan were great, look out for Jannat. It is out of this world and simply phenomenal,” declares Emraan Hashmi who would be seeing a film of his arriving at theaters after almost a year. Though 2006 saw Good Boy Bad Boy, The Train and Awarapan releasing one after another, it has been a sort of wait for Emraan Hashmi in 2008, as Jannat would be arriving only in the month of May. “We want the music as well as the film to be promoted to an optimum degree,” says Emraan who is actively involved in the functioning and progress of Bhatt brothers’ Vishesh Films. “Awarapan experience has taught that much more time should be given to the promotion of music. It is nice to see that songs like ‘Maahiya’, ‘Tera Mera Rishta‘ and ‘To Phir Aayo‘ are so popular today. I guess they were still growing up with people when the film got released.”

So, what does the action plan seem for Jannat. “We would go all out to make sure that the music of Jannat is heard by everyone. Liking or not liking it is audience’s prerogative though let me tell you that I am 200% sure about the music becoming a big success. We want the music to hit the peak and then run for at least a fortnight before the film arrives. I have great confidence in the tunes that Pritam has created,” reflects Emraan Hashmi.