“My Days Of Net Practice In Films Is Over” – Emraan Hashmi In Conversation With Koimoi

Ek Thi Daayan has turned out to be a back-to-back suspense horror flick for you after ‘Raaz 3’. Was it convenient for you to slip from one film to another?
Honestly, doing something like this was difficult for me in the early part of my career. However now I can move from one film to another rather quickly. Now I know how to handle two films simultaneously. My days of net practice in films is over, it is time to play the real game.

So what’s the real game in ‘Ek Thi Daayan’? Who is this ‘daayan’ after all?
She is everything that you have heard of in fairy tales, albeit with something interesting. Did you know that she can lure you with her charm? She is beautiful when in front of you but can take a very scary form when she turns into a witch. We have heard stories of witches having their feet upside-down. We have also heard of monstrous visuals of a woman with hands longer than the body and with scary eyes. You will see all of that and more in the film. Have I succeeded in scaring you already? (smiles)

Well, some of your contemporaries are perhaps scared already, what with the continued success that you are enjoying. Moreover, after the Top 7 superstars, all of whom are 40+, the decade to come is expected to see you make your way briskly up the ladder. Any roadmap?
This may sound pompous but I have never compared my identity or benchmarked it with someone else. It is always in relation to myself. I never see box office success or failure of others to gauge how big or small I am. I only compare my film with my own last project. As clichéd as it may sound but then I am as good as my last Friday.

You must be indeed hoping a lot from this Friday’s release ‘Ek Thi Daayan’, considering the fact your last new release ‘Raaz 3’ (‘Rush’ was a delayed film after all) took the biggest opening of your career and also stays on to be your biggest grosser yet.
Of course the endeavour is for my new film to outdo my last. I do keep in mind all the numbers and the box office results of my films. But it’s unfair to compare two films and their results. It is all a function of the cast, budget and genre.

Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder