How Awarapan 2 Is Bringing Back The Emraan Hashmi We Missed

It has been 19 years since Awarapan released in 2007. 

That is enough time for the audience that watched Emraan Hashmi as Shivam back then to grow up, get jobs, get married, have kids, and probably wonder where all those years went.

And yet, the moment Emraan Hashmi appears as Shivam again, it feels somehow familiar.

That is perhaps the biggest reason Awarapan 2 has people talking. This isn't just about bringing back a character from a film that released almost two decades ago.

It is about bringing back a version of Emraan Hashmi that a whole generation grew up watching. And honestly, we have missed him.

Remember The Emraan Hashmi Era?

If you grew up watching Bollywood in the 2000s, there was simply no escaping Emraan Hashmi.

He was in Murder, Zeher, Aashiq Banaya Aapne, Kalyug, Gangster, Jannat and Raaz: The Mystery Continues. Then came Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, Murder 2, The Dirty Picture and Jannat 2.

His films were different, but they all had the same flavour.

There was usually romance. There was trouble. There was definitely a song that would end up on everyone's playlist.

And Emraan had this ability to make even the most troubled character look effortlessly cool.

He could be a gangster, a gambler, a journalist, a conman, or a hopeless romantic. It did not really matter. There was always something about him that made you want to watch what happened next.

And Then There Were The Songs

Let's be honest. You cannot talk about Emraan Hashmi without talking about his songs.

Bheege Hont Tere, Kaho Na Kaho, Woh Lamhe Woh Baatein, Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai, Toh Phir Aao, Zara Sa, Haan Tu Hain, Pee Loon and Ishq Sufiyana.

The list goes on.

These songs were everywhere. On phones, music channels, laptops, CDs and those very old MP3 players that could somehow hold hundreds of songs.

For a lot of people, especially my generation, Emraan's music is tied to memories of school, college, first crushes and first heartbreaks.

And yes, some of us probably listened to those songs while pretending we were going through a life-changing heartbreak when we had simply been left on "seen".

That was the Emraan Hashmi experience.

Then Came Awarapan

When Awarapan released in 2007, Emraan was already a familiar face. But Shivam was different.

He was quieter. Darker. He wasn't the usual charming guy from Emraan's romantic films. He was angry, hurt, and clearly carrying a lot of baggage.

And that made the character memorable.

Awarapan, which also featured Shriya Saran, was not a huge success at the box office when it released, but it slowly found its audience. Over the years, it became one of those films people discovered later and then wondered why they had not appreciated it enough when it first came out.

The music helped, of course.

Tera Mera Rishta and Toh Phir Aao became favourites and are still remembered nearly two decades later.

So when Emraan returns as Shivam in 2026, there is an instant familiarity. It feels like opening an old playlist you had forgotten about.

Emraan Has Changed Quite A Bit Since Then

The funny thing is that Emraan has spent the last 19 years doing everything possible to move beyond his old image.

He played a cricketer in Azhar. He tried horror in Ek Thi Daayan. He explored comedy in Ghanchakkar. He took on more serious roles in films such as Shanghai and Why Cheat India.

Then came Tiger 3, followed by Ground Zero.

We don't necessarily want Emraan to go back to making the exact same films he made in the 2000s.

We just miss the feeling. There was something very specific about watching an Emraan Hashmi film back then. You knew you were going to get a good soundtrack. You knew romance would probably end badly.

And somehow, that was part of the fun.

Awarapan 2 gets to tap into that feeling without pretending that it is still 2007.

The movie will hit the big screens on August 14.