Even after spending many years in the industry and working across different genres, Emraan Hashmi still often receives references to his 'serial kisser' tag.
Emraan said he was frequently typecast as a bad boy romantic hero during the early part of his career but added that this kind of typecasting is not unique to him.
He told the Hindustan Times, "I think this is not something that's very specific to me as an actor. It's happened to many people in the West. You've seen comic actors who probably have a problem breaking through. The classic example is Jim Carrey. So I think people like to slot you."
Murder gave Emraan widespread recognition. His on-screen chemistry with Mallika Sherawat, especially their bold scenes, drew significant media attention at the time.
This was followed by a series of thrillers in which his 'bad boy' persona and frequent kissing scenes became a defining feature, eventually prompting the media to label him a "serial kisser." Emraan now acknowledges that this image and the nickname actually benefitted him.
He said, "They were commercial successes, and I was also raking in that image. We were playing up to it through the marketing. The press was in on it."
Speaking about when he decided to move away from that persona, Emraan explained, "After a decade of doing it, I realised that the audience changes. They say, every 10 to 14 years, it switches. The next generation comes to the theatres. It's very important to reinvent yourself for that fresh audience. And every character, every mould, reaches the saturation point. You can only juice it out as much. And I realised I juiced it to the hilt, yeah. So it was very important to me to switch,"
However, even after so many years, Emraan says he is still asked about that phase of his career. He said, "What happens is that when you have such a strong image, especially in a very conservative society like India, they will still hold on to it. Like, if you see people from the press conference the other day, there was still a question about the kiss that pops up. But that's India. They are still obsessed with it,"
"You have to go out there and just play in the front foot and do something to at least show your versatility. Just go out there and be daring with the stuff that you're doing," added Emraan.
On the work front, Emraan was recently seen in Netflix's Taskaree, in which he played the role of a customs officer.
Also Read: Taskaree The Smuggler's Web Review: Emraan Hashmi Show Starts Off Strong, Let Down By Plot Twists
