Emraan Hashmi

Syed Emraan Anwar Hashmi (; born 24 March 1979) is an Indian film actor, who appears in Hindi films. Initially known for performing bold scenes, Hashmi has since portrayed strong roles in films. One of the most unconventional actors of India, Hashmi has received four Filmfare Award nominations.

He worked as an assistant director for the 2002 horror film '' Raaz'' before pursuing a career in acting. By 2004, Hashmi had established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema with roles in several successful thrillers including, ''Murder'' (2004), '' Zeher'' (2005), '' Aashiq Banaya Aapne'' (2005),
'' Kalyug'' (2005), Aksar (2006), and ''Gangster'' (2006). However, he followed it with roles in films that underperformed at the box office before starring in the acclaimed action drama '' Awarapan'' (2007).

The year 2008 marked a turning point for Hashmi, when he played a conman in the crime drama '' Jannat''. He subsequently gained recognition for portraying a range of unconventional characters in the horror film '' Raaz: The Mystery Continues'' (2009), the biographical drama ''The Dirty Picture'' (2011), the psychological thriller ''Murder 2'' (2011), the romantic comedy '' Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji'' (2011), the crime thriller '' Jannat 2'' (2012), and the supernatural thrillers ''Raaz 3'' (2012) and '' Ek Thi Daayan'' (2013), all of which earned him critical appreciation. Hashmi's acclaimed performances in the underworld drama '' Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai'' (2010) and the political thriller ''Shanghai'' (2012), garnered him two Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations. This was followed by another series of poorly received films and a hiatus. He returned with the commercially successful action thriller '' Tiger 3'' (2023), which earned him his third Filmfare nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

In addition to acting in films, Hashmi has launched an auto-biographical book that dealt with his son's illness, and is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products. He is married to his childhood sweetheart Parveen Shahani since 2006, with whom he has a son.

Early life

Hashmi was born on 24 March 1979, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. His father, Syed Anwar Hashmi, is a businessman, who also acted in the mystery film '' Baharon Ki Manzil'' (1968), and his mother, Maherrah Hashmi, was a homemaker. His paternal grandfather, Syed Shaukat Hashmi, migrated to Pakistan after the partition of India, where he worked as a journalist and as a film director, while his grandmother, Meherbhano Mohammad Ali (known by her screen name Purnima), was an actress, who stayed in India. Meherbano Mohammad Ali later married producer-director Bhagwan Das Varma, making him Hashmi's step-grandfather and Hashmi a part of the Varma family. Hashmi is also a part of the Bhatt family as Meherbano was the sister of Shirin Mohammad Ali, the mother of producers Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt, who are thus Hashmi's uncles. Hashmi is the second cousin of director Mohit Suri, with whom he has collaborated in several films, actresses Pooja Bhatt and Alia Bhatt and actor Rahul Bhatt.

Hashmi studied at the Maneckji Cooper Education Trust School. Later, he attended Sydenham College in Mumbai and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Mumbai.

Career

2003–2007: Breakthrough with erotic-thrillers

Hashmi made his acting debut with Vikram Bhatt's thriller ''Footpath'' (2003) alongside Aftab Shivdasani and Bipasha Basu. His performance as Raghu Shrivastav, a gangster, was appreciated by critics, with Gaurav Malani describing him as the "scene-stealer" and praised his mannerisms. It emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office.

He achieved his breakthrough with Anurag Basu's erotic thriller ''Murder'' (2004) co-starring Mallika Sherawat and Ashmit Patel in lead roles. Taran Adarsh of ''Bollywood Hungama'' said about his performance: "Hashmi is fantastic in a role that seems tailor-made for him. Portraying an obsessive lover with flourish, there's no denying that the narrative gets a major impetus thanks to Hashmi's performance." ''Murder'' emerged as a commercial success, with a domestic total of , ranking as the eighth highest-grossing Hindi fim of the year.

Hashmi next starred in Basu's musical romance '' Tumsa Nahin Dekha'' (2004) opposite Dia Mirza. While shooting the film, Basu was diagnosed with blood cancer, so producer-director Mahesh Bhatt stepped in to complete it. Although the film emerged as a commercial disaster at the box office, Hashmi's portrayal of Daksh Mittal (a young millionaire who falls in love with a bargirl, played by Mirza) received mixed-to-positive reviews. A review of his performance in ''BBC Online'' noted that he was "becoming fabulous with every film."

The next year Hashmi made appearances in 4 movies. His 1st movie in 2005 was '' Zeher'', a mystery thriller film directed by debutant Mohit Suri & produced by Mahesh Bhatt, adaptation of the 2003 American film '' Out Of Time''. Released on 25 March 2005, the film was moderately successful at the box office. Film's songs 'Agar Tum Mil Jao' & 'Jaane Jaa Jaane Jaa' were chartbusters while other songs were also extremely popular with the song 'Woh Lahme' being a big rage among the youth. His 2nd film that year was '' Aashiq Banaya Aapne'', a romantic thriller film directed by Aditya Datt, inspired by the 2001 American film ''Tangled'', starring Emraan Hashmi, Sonu Sood, & Tanushree Dutta (in her debut), & follows a love triangle between their characters. His 3rd film that year was ''Chocolate'', a crime thriller film directed by Vivek Agnihotri in his directorial debut, starring Anil Kapoor, Sunil Shetty, Emraan Hashmi, Irrfan Khan, Arshad Warsi, Tanushree Dutta, & Sushma Reddy. The film was inspired by the 1995 American film ''The Usual Suspects''. His final film appearance that year was a supporting role in Mohit Suri's action thriller '' Kalyug'', alongside Kunal Khemu, Smilie Suri, Amrita Singh, Ashutosh Rana & Deepal Shaw. Based on the sex industry, the film depicted the devastating effect that non-consensual pornographic films have on the subjects. Hashmi featured as Ali Bhai, a man who runs a sex shop. His performance, and the film, garnered positive reviews from critics, with Taran Adarsh writing: "Hashmi makes a brief, but solid, appearance and the actor is, like always, highly competent." ''Kalyug'' emerged as a moderate commercial success in India.

Hashmi's first screen appearance in 2006 was Anant Mahadevan's erotic thriller '' Aksar'' alongside Udita Goswami and Dino Morea. The film was super hit, and well received from critics. He followed it up with Basu's musical romantic thriller '' Gangster: A Love Story'' co-starring debutante Kangana Ranaut and Shiney Ahuja in lead roles. The film emerged as a commercial success at the box-office, grossing over in India. It opened to positive reviews from critics upon release, with Hashmi's portrayal of Akash Kapadia, an undercover detective, receiving particular praise. ''Rediff.com'''s Raja Sen wrote, "Hashmi's character is an understated one, and he manages to keep it that way. There is no unnecessary bluster or melodrama, and he does a pretty believable job. There is something lazy about his acting, by which I mean he makes the job look easy." Hashmi's performance in the film earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role. He then appeared in the crime thriller '' The Killer'' (adapted from the 2004 film '' Collateral'') and the romance '' Dil Diya Hai'', both of which emerged as critical and commercial disasters.

In 2007, Hashmi appeared in three films, the first being the comedy '' Good Boy Bad Boy'' alongside Tusshar Kapoor, Isha Sharvani and Tanushree Dutta. The film received negative reviews from critics upon release and emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office. He next featured as a gangster with a tragic past in Suri's neo-noir action drama '' Awarapan'' (2007) alongside Mrinalini Sharma and Shriya Saran. The film received positive reviews from critics upon release, with particular praise directed towards Hashmi's performance. Writing for the ''Hindustan Times'', critic Khalid Mohamed described it as "intense and believable". Subhash K Jha wrote: "...Hashmi san actor who conceals more than he reveals on screen. There is an inherent pain in his personality that this film taps better than anything he has done earlier. This film marks the emergence of a major talent." Despite positive critical reception, it emerged as a commercial disaster at the box-office. Over the years, ''Awarapan'' has attained cult status, primarily due to Hashmi's performance. His final release of the year was the romantic thriller '' The Train'', co-starring Geeta Basra and debutante Sayali Bhagat in lead roles. Narrating the story of a married couple caught in a complex extramarital love triangle, the film received mixed reviews from critics upon release, and emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office.

2008–2012: Commercial success

Hashmi's only film appearance in 2008 was Kunal Deshmukh's crime romance '' Jannat''. Depicting a love story set against the backdrop of match fixing, the film also starred Sonal Chauhan, Javed Sheikh and Sameer Kochhar. The film, and Hashmi's performance in the film as Arjun Dixit, a bookmaker, received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics; Taran Adarsh commented that " e actor displays the gamut of emotions with aplomb, he changes expressions like a chameleon changes colors. ''Jannat'' is yet another turning point in his career." The film emerged as a commercial success in India, with revenues of over .

In 2009, Hashmi appeared in Suri's supernatural horror film '' Raaz: The Mystery Continues'', alongside Ranaut and Adhyayan Suman. Hashmi's portrayal of a painter, and the film, received mixed-to-positive reviews; ''The Times of Indias Nikhat Kazmi wrote: "Hashmi is fast emerging as the Colin Farrell of Indian cinema: completely mercurial, eclectic and unpredictable. As the brooding, prescient painter, who paints death on his canvas and falls in love with one of subjects, he is suitably aggrieved, desperate and afraid." Its domestic collection exceeded , emerging as a commercial success at the box-office. He then starred opposite Soha Ali Khan in Kunal Deshmukh's romantic drama disaster ''Tum Mile'', which narrated a love story set against the backdrop of the 2005 Maharashtra floods. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release; however, it emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office.

The following year, Hashmi featured in Milan Luthria's period action drama '' Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai'' with an ensemble cast including Ajay Devgan, Kangana Ranaut, Prachi Desai and Randeep Hooda. The film, which depicted the rise of organised crime in Mumbai, saw Hashmi play Shoaib Khan, a character inspired by real-life gangster Dawood Ibrahim. With a domestic revenue of over , ''Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai'' emerged as a commercial success at the box-office, ranking as the seventh highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. The film received positive reviews from critics upon release, with particular praise for Hashmi's performance. Blessy Chettiar of ''Daily News and Analysis'' described him as "top class", while Komal Nahta remarked: "This is easily Hashmi's best performance so far. If he is cute in the romantic scenes, he is believably tough in the action and dramatic scenes." For his performance, Hashmi received his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. His next release that year was Suri's action thriller '' Crook'', based on the violence against Indians in Australia controversy. However, the film was panned by critics and emerged as a commercial disaster at the box-office.

Hashmi began 2011 with Madhur Bhandarkar's romantic comedy '' Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji'' alongside Devgn, Omi Vaidya, Shazahn Padamsee, Tisca Chopra and Shruti Hassan. The film, and Hashmi's performance, received mixed reviews from critics upon release, and emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office. He next featured in Suri's psychological action thriller ''Murder 2'', alongside Jacqueline Fernandez. The film, and Hashmi's performance, received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. Shubhra Gupta of ''The Indian Express'' wrote: "Hashmi gets to do what he does best, glowering at the men, bedding the ladies, and towards the end, going head to head with the bad guy ..he goes through the film with his usual smart one-liners containing equal amounts of bluster and fluster." ''Murder 2'' emerged as a commercial success at the box-office, with a domestic revenue of over . His final film appearance that year was Luthria's biographical musical drama ''The Dirty Picture'', featuring Vidya Balan as the controversial Indian actress Silk Smitha, alongside Naseeruddin Shah and Tusshar Kapoor. He portrayed Abraham, the narrator, who proclaims himself to be the protagonist's biggest enemy. The film opened to widespread critical acclaim, with praise for Hashmi's performance; CNN-IBN's Rajeev Masand wrote: "Hashmi is highly restrained as Abraham, a director who believes in film as art, and who abhors the idea of inserting steamy numbers in his movie to lure in the crowds." However, several critics were sceptical about his role in the film; Soumyadipta Banerjee from ''Daily News and Analysis'' considered it "out of place". It emerged as a major commercial success with a worldwide revenue of over . ''Murder 2'' and ''The Dirty Picture'' ranked as the ninth and seventh highest-grossing Hindi films of the year.

In 2012, Hashmi appeared in Deshmukh's crime thriller '' Jannat 2'' alongside Hooda and Esha Gupta. It was initially titled ''Informer'', but was later changed to the current title, making it a follow-up film to ''Jannat'' (2008). The film received mixed reviews from critics upon release, but emerged as a commercial success at the box-office. He next starred alongside Abhay Deol, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Kalki Koechlin in Dibakar Banerjee's political thriller ''Shanghai'', an adaptation of writer Vassilis Vassilikos's novel ''Z'' and the 1969 French film of the same name. Set in a fictional town called Bharat Nagar, it traced corruption in India. The film opened to critical acclaim upon release, and Hashmi received widespread praise for his portrayal of Joginder Parmar, a videographer who sometimes shoots porn films. Madhureeta Mukherjee of ''The Times of India'' wrote that Hashmi "looks the part and pulls off an act he should be proud of." Raja Sen described it as one of his best performances and wrote: "Hashmi delivers a knockout punch as he masters a complicated role" and called it as "the year's finest, bravest and most consistent performance." Hashmi's next appearance that year was for Vikram Bhatt's supernatural horror film '' Raaz 3: The Third Dimension'', collaborating again with Bipasha Basu and Esha Gupta. The third film in the ''Raaz'' film series, it emerged as a major commercial success at the box-office, and opened to mixed-to-positive reviews from critics; however, Hashmi's performance received mixed reviews. critic Kunal Guha commented: " ashmitakes his role as seriously as he could but his efforts couldn't exorcise the devilishly terrible plot from spelling doom for this film." Lisa Tsering of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' wrote: "The swarthy Hashmi ..does a forgettable job. His final film of the year was Shamin Desai's delayed thriller '' Rush'', which emerged as a critical and commercial disaster at the box-office.

2013–present: Diversification and setbacks

In 2013, Hashmi's first film appearance was in Ekta Kapoor and Vishal Bhardwaj's supernatural thriller '' Ek Thi Daayan'', alongside Konkona Sen Sharma, Huma Qureshi and Koechlin in lead roles. The film, and Hashmi's performance, opened to positive reviews from critics upon release. Saibal Chatterjee of ''NDTV'' mentioned that Hashmi "gives the character of the haunted magician just that – a haunted feel that is just apt", whilst Shubhra Gupta called his performance "consistent", adding that he "is a performer who keeps getting better". Hashmi's second appearance that year was for Raj Kumar Gupta's comedy thriller '' Ghanchakkar'' opposite Balan. The film, and Hashmi's performance, opened to mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release. Sneha May Francis of '' Emirates 24/7'' wrote that "Hashmi spins one of his acting career's most understated, yet imposing performances. He crafts is character'spredicaments – his anger, frustration and suspicions – with effortless charm." Rajeev Masand was more critical of his performance, reflecting that he "struggles to shine under the limited scope of his role." On the commercial front, ''Ek Thi Daayan'' emerged as a below-average grosser, while ''Ghanchakkar'' emerged as a commercial disaster.

In 2014, Hashmi starred in Deshmukh's crime thriller ''Raja Natwarlal'' and Rensil D'Silva's crime drama thriller '' Ungli'', both of which emerged as critical and commercial failures at the box-office, with the latter being Hashmi's fifth consecutive commercial failure. He then played the leading role in Academy Award-winning director Danis Tanović's drama '' Tigers'', which premiered at 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and was later released digitally on the on-demand platform ZEE5 in November 2018.

In 2015, Hashmi appeared in two films, the first being the science fiction action film '' Mr. X'' alongside Amyra Dastur, which emerged as a critical and commercial disaster at the box-office. His second film that year was the long-awaited musical romantic drama '' Hamari Adhuri Kahani'', opposite Balan for the third time, alongside Rajkummar Rao. The film was based on the love story of Bhatt's parents, Nanabhai Bhatt, Shirin Mohammad Ali and his stepmother Hemlata Bhatt. It opened to mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release, but emerged as a moderate commercial success at the box-office. The same year, he appeared alongside Gupta in the music video of the romantic song "Main Rahoon Ya Naa Rahoon" composed by Armaan Malik and Amaal Malik, and presented by T-Series.

The following year, he starred in the biographical drama '' Azhar'' (2016), based on the life of Indian cricketer and former national team captain Mohammad Azharuddin. The film opened to mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release, and emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office. He next appeared in Vikram Bhatt's '' Raaz: Reboot'' (2016), the fourth film in the ''Raaz'' film series. It emerged as a critical and commercial disaster at the box-office.

Hashmi's spate of commercial failures continued in 2017 with Luthria's action adventure '' Baadshaho'' co-starring alongside Devgan, Ileana D'Cruz, Gupta and Vidyut Jammwal, another critical and commercial disaster. The same year, he also began shooting for ''Captain Nawab'', but the film was later shelved.

After a special appearance as himself in the comedy ''Welcome to New York'' (2018), Hashmi made his OTT debut with the spy thriller web series ''Bard of Blood'', which was based on the novel of the same name by Bilal Siddiqui. Produced by Shah Rukh Khan and released on Netflix, it opened to mixed reviews from critics.

In 2019, he appeared in the crime drama '' Why Cheat India'' and the mystery thriller ''The Body'', the latter co-starring Rishi Kapoor in his final film appearance, with both films again emerging as critical and commercial disasters. The same was the fate of his 2021 releases – the crime action film ''Mumbai Saga'', the mystery thriller '' Chehre'' (co-starring Amitabh Bachchan) and the supernatural horror film ''Dybbuk''.' The same year, Hashmi also featured in the music video of the romantic song "Lut Gaye", presented by T-Series, directed by Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, and sung by Jubin Nautiyal.

In 2022, Hashmi again featured in the music video "Ishq Nahi Karte" sung by B Praak and Jaani. After no film releases in 2022, he returned to screen in 2023 with the action comedy-drama '' Selfiee'', co-starring Akshay Kumar. A remake of the 2019 Malayalam-language film ''Driving Licence'', the film emerged as a critical and commercial disaster.

Hashmi had a career resurgence when he starred as Aatish Rehman, the antagonist in Maneesh Sharma's action thriller '' Tiger 3'', co-starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. The film is a part of the YRF Spy Universe. The film opened to mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release, with particular praise for Hashmi's performance. It emerged as a major commercial success at the box-office, grossing worldwide, ranking as the sixth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, the ninth highest-grossing Indian film of the year and the 26th highest-grossing Indian film of all time. His performance in the film earned him his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Hashmi will make his debut in Telugu cinema with Sujeeth's action thriller '' They Call Him OG'', co-starring Pawan Kalyan and Priyanka Arul Mohan.

Personal life

Hashmi married Parveen Shahani in an Islamic wedding ceremony in December 2006 after a six and a half-year relationship. The couple have a son, Ayaan Hashmi, who was born on 3 February 2010. On 15 January 2014, Ayaan was diagnosed with first-stage cancer. Five years later, in January 2019, Ayaan Hashmi was declared cancer free.

While Hashmi's father is Muslim and his mother was Christian, Hashmi was brought up as a Muslim and says he is a "firm believer in God". His mother, Maherrah Hashmi, died on 11 March 2016, Hashmi cancelled one day shoot of his film ''Azhar'', when he got to know about his mother's demise. He did not want to delay the shoot of ''Azhar'' any further and also wanted to occupy his mind with work. So, he returned to the sets the soonest he could. In 2016, Hashmi launched the auto-biographical book called "The Kiss of Life", which was based on his son's journey against cancer. Its foreword was written by Akshay Kumar, with whom he would star seven years later in ''Selfiee''.

Filmography

Bibliography

Hashmi, Emraan; Siddiqi, Bilal (2016). ''The Kiss of Life: How a Superhero and My Son Defeated Cancer''. Penguin. .

Accolades

See also

* List of Indian film actors

References

External links

*

Emraan Hashm
on Bollywood Hungama

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hashmi, Emraan
1979 births
Indian male film actors
Gujarati Muslims
Male actors from Mumbai
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Living people
University of Mumbai alumni
21st-century Indian male actors
Bhatt family