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iNTERVIEW EMRAAN HASHMI, ACTOR-PRODUCER
Emraan Hashmi's innings as a producer is guided by his concerns as a father as he takes on the education system and child kidnappings
Every actor, at a certain age, turns the corner and it seems that this rebellious lover too is getting into a more mature groove now with films like Cheat India and Father's Day.
(Chuckles) I don't know if I'd call it maturity because I can still be quite immature at times, but with a certain amount of experience, your concerns and priorities change, as does your outlook of the world and cinema. And this reflects in the films you do. What you did 10 years ago, maybe even five years ago, seems like a been there, done that now and you want to move to something new. With different platforms offering interesting content, the audience too is evolving. You have to keep up with the times if you don't want to be left behind. I'm lucky these scripts are coming my way.
Would you say the turning point in your journey were films like Raja Natwarlal, Hamari Adhuri Kahani and Raaz Reboot that didn't work?
I wouldn't want to take names but I admit I did feel like I was sleepwalking through some films, and the time and effort was not worth all the money in the world. I needed to challenge myself as an actor. Since I'm producing my next two films, it will give me a chance to nurture them from their inception to their fate.
Read Also:
Emraan Hashmi to play Suryakant Bhande Patil, the detective who has solved 120 kidnapping cases for free
You have been talking about getting into production for a while. One wondered what kind of cinema you'd invest in when you took the plunge.
(Smiles) My sensibilities are very different from the kind of films I've chosen to do in the past. When people see me in person, they often find me to be a total mismatch from what they were expecting. A decade ago, films like Cheat India and Father's Daywould have been dismissed as ahead of their time by the industry, but today with the language of cinema changing and the audience too, I can afford to experiment.
I want my films not just to be entertaining, cinematic experiences, I also want the stories to stay with people for days, months, hopefully years. They shouldn't be like that box of popcorn you toss into the bin as you leave the auditorium.
You'd have been thinking of your son Ayaan's future when you set up your company...
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. When Ayaan grows up, if he wants to take over the reins, the company is his. And since I'm an actor, my son would be inclined to follow me into the industry. But I don't want him to limit his options. Sure, I'd be able to guide and protect him here since I know the territory well, but what if he has an acumen for business or wants to become a doctor? The decision has to be his. We destroy our children's future by imposing our dreams and our fears on them. But our children come from us, not for us and Ayaan doesn't owe me anything.
There's also the issue of nepotism...
On the subject all I can say is you can hold your child's hand, take him to a point, but the journey is his. It's a double-edged sword. If Ayaan decides to become an actor, he will definitely have an easier access coming from a film family, but there'd be attempts to mould him into becoming his father's carbon copy and he'd lose his individuality.
Read Also:
Emraan Hashmi's first home production kicks off on Wednesday in Lucknow
Cheat India deals with our education system and personally I don't think there's anything encouraging left there.
Yeah, the SSC and HSC paper leaks in Maharashtra and the Vyapam entrance exam, admission and recruitment scam in Madhya Pradesh in 2013 are very disturbing not only because a bunch of rich kids have the money to buy question papers and become merit holders, but they can then also pay their way into jobs which they are not qualified for and that makes all of us very vulnerable. Imagine that the doctor operating on you in a small town has no medical experience? It's bizzare and scary.
Our education system is archaic with text books being updated every five-10 years, the teacher-student ratio skewered because of over-population and the teachers themselves under-qualified for the job at times. Do you know that India's expenditure pumped into the education system is a measly 4 per cent of the GDP, a major shortfall from the realistic target of 6 per cent and above? Cheat India will touch on all this and other concerns but the vibe is entertaining.
You have a school-going son, how does all this affect you?
I've made sure Ayaan is not studying in the same board that I did as it wasn't very interesting for me to go to school and when that happens, it's the school's fault and not the child's. I'm very happy with my son's curriculum. It doesn't'encourage rote mugging but develops social skills, a sense of discipline and responsibility and is aimed at all-round development. There's a suicide happening in our country every hour and the reason for this is that our education system does not equip us with original thinking or give us real-world knowledge. It's all about grades and fostering a competitive streak in our kids which leads to depression and disillusionment in later years because the kids are lost when looking for a job.
Emraan Hashmi's innings as a producer is guided by his concerns as a father as he takes on the education system and child kidnappings
Every actor, at a certain age, turns the corner and it seems that this rebellious lover too is getting into a more mature groove now with films like Cheat India and Father's Day.
(Chuckles) I don't know if I'd call it maturity because I can still be quite immature at times, but with a certain amount of experience, your concerns and priorities change, as does your outlook of the world and cinema. And this reflects in the films you do. What you did 10 years ago, maybe even five years ago, seems like a been there, done that now and you want to move to something new. With different platforms offering interesting content, the audience too is evolving. You have to keep up with the times if you don't want to be left behind. I'm lucky these scripts are coming my way.
Would you say the turning point in your journey were films like Raja Natwarlal, Hamari Adhuri Kahani and Raaz Reboot that didn't work?
I wouldn't want to take names but I admit I did feel like I was sleepwalking through some films, and the time and effort was not worth all the money in the world. I needed to challenge myself as an actor. Since I'm producing my next two films, it will give me a chance to nurture them from their inception to their fate.
Read Also:
Emraan Hashmi to play Suryakant Bhande Patil, the detective who has solved 120 kidnapping cases for free
You have been talking about getting into production for a while. One wondered what kind of cinema you'd invest in when you took the plunge.
(Smiles) My sensibilities are very different from the kind of films I've chosen to do in the past. When people see me in person, they often find me to be a total mismatch from what they were expecting. A decade ago, films like Cheat India and Father's Daywould have been dismissed as ahead of their time by the industry, but today with the language of cinema changing and the audience too, I can afford to experiment.
I want my films not just to be entertaining, cinematic experiences, I also want the stories to stay with people for days, months, hopefully years. They shouldn't be like that box of popcorn you toss into the bin as you leave the auditorium.
You'd have been thinking of your son Ayaan's future when you set up your company...
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. When Ayaan grows up, if he wants to take over the reins, the company is his. And since I'm an actor, my son would be inclined to follow me into the industry. But I don't want him to limit his options. Sure, I'd be able to guide and protect him here since I know the territory well, but what if he has an acumen for business or wants to become a doctor? The decision has to be his. We destroy our children's future by imposing our dreams and our fears on them. But our children come from us, not for us and Ayaan doesn't owe me anything.
There's also the issue of nepotism...
On the subject all I can say is you can hold your child's hand, take him to a point, but the journey is his. It's a double-edged sword. If Ayaan decides to become an actor, he will definitely have an easier access coming from a film family, but there'd be attempts to mould him into becoming his father's carbon copy and he'd lose his individuality.
Read Also:
Emraan Hashmi's first home production kicks off on Wednesday in Lucknow
Cheat India deals with our education system and personally I don't think there's anything encouraging left there.
Yeah, the SSC and HSC paper leaks in Maharashtra and the Vyapam entrance exam, admission and recruitment scam in Madhya Pradesh in 2013 are very disturbing not only because a bunch of rich kids have the money to buy question papers and become merit holders, but they can then also pay their way into jobs which they are not qualified for and that makes all of us very vulnerable. Imagine that the doctor operating on you in a small town has no medical experience? It's bizzare and scary.
Our education system is archaic with text books being updated every five-10 years, the teacher-student ratio skewered because of over-population and the teachers themselves under-qualified for the job at times. Do you know that India's expenditure pumped into the education system is a measly 4 per cent of the GDP, a major shortfall from the realistic target of 6 per cent and above? Cheat India will touch on all this and other concerns but the vibe is entertaining.
You have a school-going son, how does all this affect you?
I've made sure Ayaan is not studying in the same board that I did as it wasn't very interesting for me to go to school and when that happens, it's the school's fault and not the child's. I'm very happy with my son's curriculum. It doesn't'encourage rote mugging but develops social skills, a sense of discipline and responsibility and is aimed at all-round development. There's a suicide happening in our country every hour and the reason for this is that our education system does not equip us with original thinking or give us real-world knowledge. It's all about grades and fostering a competitive streak in our kids which leads to depression and disillusionment in later years because the kids are lost when looking for a job.
What appealed to you about the story of Suryakant Bhande Patil, the Pune-based civil engineer who's worked with cops to solve 120 child kidnapping cases for free?
Very few script narrations have left me feeling emotionally charged and satiated like this one. Maybe it was the bond between father and son.
Since the film is called Father's Day and features two children, will we see Ayaan sharing the screen with you?
I'd love to share the screen with him because I know rather than me, Ayaan will teach me a few things about acting. He's so spontaneous, expressive, energetic and totally unabashed but I'll leave the ball in his court. Even if it's a nine-year-old's decision, I know it will be the right one because my son knows what he wants. Kids today are very smart.
What's happening with Captain Nawab, the film about the Kargil war?
It's on pause right now, Tony (D'Souza, director) could fill you in on it.
And The Body?
I just finished it. It's a horror thriller, a space I hadn't touched for a while because the scripts I was getting were so predictable. But this stays ahead of the audience till the end. Director Jeethu Joseph is a brilliant mind. It has an interesting cast of Vedhika, Shobita (Dhulipala) and Rishi Kapor who plays the detective.
Very few script narrations have left me feeling emotionally charged and satiated like this one. Maybe it was the bond between father and son.
Since the film is called Father's Day and features two children, will we see Ayaan sharing the screen with you?
I'd love to share the screen with him because I know rather than me, Ayaan will teach me a few things about acting. He's so spontaneous, expressive, energetic and totally unabashed but I'll leave the ball in his court. Even if it's a nine-year-old's decision, I know it will be the right one because my son knows what he wants. Kids today are very smart.
What's happening with Captain Nawab, the film about the Kargil war?
It's on pause right now, Tony (D'Souza, director) could fill you in on it.
And The Body?
I just finished it. It's a horror thriller, a space I hadn't touched for a while because the scripts I was getting were so predictable. But this stays ahead of the audience till the end. Director Jeethu Joseph is a brilliant mind. It has an interesting cast of Vedhika, Shobita (Dhulipala) and Rishi Kapor who plays the detective.
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