Emraan Hashmi has created a niche for himself in the film industry and has constantly challenged himself by taking up different kinds of films. The actor says that he does not like "walking on the beaten path".
Taking the example of his character of a 50-year-old professor in Harami, who trains a gang of poor young kids to pickpocket in trains and train stations in Mumbai, Hashmi told Hindustan Times, I don’t think I would’ve been given a role of such an aged guy sporting salt and pepper hair, glasses etc in a regular commercial film. That's not how those scripts are penned. So along with enjoying my mainstream journey, l love dabbling in other kind of cinema… And that’s when I do a Tigers or a Harami, and step out of the regular trappings of Bollywood."
Hashmi continued and said that sometimes these limitations in the industry don't let an actor experiment much.
"You generally get labelled and are seen in sync with certain kind of films. If you're doing commercial films you’re bound to follow certain commercial dictates. You might play different characters in different genres but you still are a Hindi film hero so to say. You can’t really push the envelope too much," he said.
Hashmi also said that he does not choose what films to do, thinking "how the audience will react".
"I choose projects instinctively. All my upcoming films are different and explore varied genres. If I feel a story is important and needs to be told and I would be proud associating with it, I take it up. I know some actors only see commercial viability and there is nothing wrong with that. But I think differently… I want to have that balance, I want to do a bit of both."
