EMRAAN HASHMI

I don't want awards. I am not saying this like it's a case of sour grapes. It isn't. I have been to a couple of award functions, and I soon realised that it doesn't give me the kick that it does to others.

I burned down my backyard as a seven-year-old. I poured kerosene over dried leaves and set the whole place on fire, just for fun. Yeah, not a very normal thing to do.

I generally like grey roles. My interpretation of drama is different from the popular perception. Acting, for me, is not about overplaying, it is about concealing. I like flawed characters that people relate to. I would never do a romcom.

Somehow, I always knew I would get married by the time I was 27. Even in college, I had this weird thing in my head that I would get married when I was 27, and hopefully my career would be stable, and I'll have kids by 30. And that's exactly what has happened.

With my physicality and my face, I don't think I could pull off a completely righteous guy. There's something devious about my eyes. I like characters with flaws and to see how they overcome those flaws. I want to play real people, and they're flawed, not perfect.

After I tasted success with erotic thrillers, a time came when I was being offered only films belonging to that genre. The industry loves repeating a success formula, and the audience had formed a certain image of mine in their minds.

I was never really interested in studies and was hot-headed and rebellious in college, as I was totally confused and insecure but was not coming to terms with it.

I've always been into visual effects. It was something I took keen interest in before films happened. Ironically, I am a part of 'Raaz 3,' a film that is shot entirely on 3D. It has encouraged me to pursue my dream. Hopefully, if time permits, I will travel to the United States and attend a crash course in visual graphics and animation.

I don't want to belong to any league. I am in a league of my own. I don't want any tags associated with me because I know when the media associates tags with you, they also have the power to remove those tags tomorrow.

I did B com but realised that it was not my cup of tea. I was always fascinated by animation, and after I completed my course, I wanted to go abroad and pursue it. I used to sketch a lot and was rather serious about it. But all this was until I joined films.

Sometimes I know a film might not pull the audience to the theatres and have a great collection at the box office. But I need to do these films for creative satisfaction and give something different to the audience.

An Emraan Hashmi film has come to guarantee certain ingredients: An intense, grey central character, a beautiful girl - if he gets lucky, then two - couple of kisses, a few bold scenes, fabulous music and a climatic twist.

I go for a couple of parties; you won't find me at every film party and never at award ceremonies. I tried attending for the first three to four years, and I've performed at award shows. I sat in them, and I've also exited pretty fast from them. It's just not my place. I'd rather get their adulation in a cinema hall.

I used to do films for money earlier. I never knew what perception meant. I didn't give too much attention to scripts. It was either to buy a house or to buy a car. There was a certain frivolity to the way I used to pick up things. I wasn't taking my career seriously.

I am not doing comedy because the genre is successful. If that was the case, I would have done a run-of-the-mill comedy film. I set my own trends. I like to give something new and different to my audiences. I want to do the kind of comedy that has been missing till now.

I am tired of kissing on screen. I have to do it because it is synonymous with me. Also, the producers and directors want to add that element. I don't give it too much importance.

I feel I should never do passive characters. They don't work for me.

In my career, I have played a gangster, an ex cop, a journalist and a film director. Yet, the label of a serial kisser refuses to leave me.

If someone pulls me down, I pull them down, as I don't feel I should live my life in the way other people want me to. If they have a problem with my films, I can rip off their films, be it comedy or their family dramas, which are low on content and have over-theatrical acting.

As for my looks, if I didn't look the way I do, I would probably be one of those many faces doing a romcom, which I detest. The way I look has somewhere defined the characters I played. My weakness has become my strength.

My hectic work schedule does not often permit me time to visit temples, but my conversations with God don't depend on idol worship. Inside my heart, I have developed and sustained a direct communication with Him.

I don't know the definition of a star; I am just an actor. I prefer doing hard work, as I feel luck can't do much in absence of hard work. I am a lazy person - when I entered into this industry, I thought it was a cakewalk, but I have realised it needs a lot of patience and hard work.

When in college, I would hardly attend classes. In fact, we would go to other colleges and hang out there. Every six months, my friends and I would hit the roads and go to Goa. We weren't rich kids, and our trips were on shoestring budgets. But, we hardly cut down on the fun.

Boldness, sensuality and an unapologetic way of showing things, that is part of my films.

I was an assistant director for a year, and I realized, 'God, this is a lot of hard work. This is going to take time. So what's the shortcut? What's the better option?' Then thankfully, someone said, 'Why don't you become an actor?'