I like playing grey characters: Emraan Hashmi (Interview)

MUMBAI - Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi, known for his on-screen kisses, says he enjoys essaying grey characters even as he is trying to be a good father in real life. In his new release, “Crook”, he will be seen playing a dark role.

“I have always played characters with grey shades and I like it. I like a certain realism to the characters I’m playing. In reality too, I always suspect people who claim they have done only good things in their lives,” Emraan, 31, told IANS in an interview.

“I don’t believe people who say they haven’t experienced jealousy, greed, because I feel all these emotions are felt by everyone. We all go through a phase where we feel guilty about doing something. I have made mistakes.”

Any plans of doing a goody-two-shoes role?

“I might do something very positive in future, but as of now I’m quite happy doing the roles I’ve been offered,” said Emraan who was seen as a baddie in films like “Murder”, “Gangster - A Love Story” and “Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai”.

Slated to hit the screens Oct 8, “Crook” has been directed by Mohit Suri and revolves round the issue of racial attacks on Indians in Australia.

“I play a character who is aggressive but at the same time is endearing and funny. He believes in this weird motto that it’s good to be bad because he feels that good guys finish last.”

There were reports that he had a rift with producer Mahesh Bhatt over a kissing scene in “Crook”.

“I just wanted to trim the duration of the kissing scene a little bit, but Bhatt saab wanted to retain the original length. There was no verbal dispute and no rift at all. It was just a discussion. If a role demands something, I’m all for it,” he clarified.

In real life, Emraan is trying to be a doting father - he became a dad early this year and says he loves the experience of fatherhood but is very bad at carrying out the duties of a parent.

“I’m very bad at daddy duties. I try and change diapers but I fail, can’t do that. It’s quite a task to take care of a baby, so I leave it to my wife. Playing is easy, I do that,” said a visibly amused Emraan who tied the knot with Parveen Shahani in 2006.

Emraan and Parveen have named their son Ayaan and the actor tries to get back home to spend some quality time with his little boy.

“I try to be on time to meet my son before he sleeps so that he doesn’t start calling me uncle one fine day. I don’t want that after six months or so he doesn’t recognise me. When I go out for promotional tours, he doesn’t recognise me when I come back,” he said.

“I just keep shuffling time between my work and my family and my kid. It gets tough but you have to be around. I have become disciplined but I have not really changed as a person. I have not become matured - what usually happens with a lot of people,” he said.

(Ruchika Kher can be contacted at ruchika.k@ians.in)