Wearing all those stone-studded rings on his fingers hasn't had much of an effect on Emraan Hashmi's career, of late. For some time now, it has been a dry spell for Bollywood's serial kisser. Rush, Ek Thi Daayan, Ghanchakkar and now, Raja Natwarlal, all missed the mark. And despite liplocks being a part of his last four releases – with Neha Dhupia and Sagarika Ghatge in Rush, Huma Qureshi in Ek Thi Daayan, Vidya Balan in Ghanchakkar and Humaima Malick in Raja Natwarlal, there's not a hit in sight. Here's why:
Everyone's doing it, too
Kissing on screen used to be a big deal a few years ago, but now it looks like everyone is doing it. Be it the guys like Hrithik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan or Ayushmann Khurrana... they all have lip-locks to their credit. Aamir Khan has never shied away from them, but Shah Rukh Khan too agreed to do one in Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Even the actresses – Parineeti Chopra and Alia Bhatt – are okay with kissing their co-stars. With on-screen smooching losing its novelty, it's but natural that it has affected Emraan's brand value. Emraan's uncle and producer Mukesh Bhatt, who gave the actor a break and followed it with many successful movies, says, "The whole 'serial kisser' thing doesn't work anymore. Everyone is doing it. Also, it's not just about him kissing an actress. It has to be done in the right manner. The entertainment value and the music of his past films have worked wonders for Emraan."
Time to reinvent?
With four movies that have fared badly, Emraan now has Ungli with Dharama production that has been delayed for many months. He is all set to make his debut on the international circuit with the movie Tigers that his been directed by Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic. But on the Bollywood front, Emraan's next ambitious project is Mr X, which is been produced by the Bhatts. The movie will be directed by Vikram Bhatt. Emraan's scary bald avatar that uncle Mahesh Bhatt tweeted created a lot of buzz on Twitter. The uncle-nephew did have some issues when Emraan canceled the shooting of Mr X to promote Raja Natwarlal. Mr X will be followed by another film – Hamari Adhuri Kahani - under the Bhatt banner. The movie will star Vidya Balan opposite Emraan, and will be directed by Mohit Suri. There just might be some more kissing in the movie. Isn't it time the actor reinvents himself? "Emraan will bounce back big with Mr X and Hamari Adhuri Kahaani," says Bhatt confidently.
No worries
Like their previous movies, Bhatt is sure that their forthcoming ventures will have a good run at the box office. He says, "Why did the combination Rajesh Khanna-Shakti Samanta, Amitabh Bachchan-manmohan Desai, Shah Rukh Khan-Yash Chopra work? It's because of the great team that they made together. Similarly Emraan Hashmi and Bhatts is a combination that always works at the box office." And the fact that Emraan's last four movies haven't set the cash registers ringing doesn't bother him. Bhatt adds, "Success of the actors worry those who work with stars. We never work with stars. We have made Emraan. He is a part of the family. He started out with us and we've always worked well together. Vishesh films is like China, we don't depend on support from others. We rely on stories, music and content to make our movies work."
Look who's kissing
Ranbir Kapoor: Minissha Lamba, Bipasha Basu and Deepika Padukone in Bachna Ae Haseeno, Sarah Thompson Kane in Raajneeti, Priyanka Chopra in Anjaana Anjaani, Aditi Rao Hydari and Nargis Fakhri in Rockstar, Ileana D'Cruz in Barfi!, Deepika Padukone in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Ranveer Singh: Anushka Sharma in Band Baaja Baaraat and Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, Sonakshi Sinha in Lootera, Deepika Padukone in Ram-Leela,
Arjun Kapoor: Parineeti Chopra in Ishaqzaade, Sasha Agha in Aurangzeb, Alia Bhatt in 2 States
Sidharth Malhotra: Alia Bhatt in Student of the Year, Parineeti Chopra in Hasee Toh Phasee, Shraddha Kapoor in Ek Villian
Varun Dhawan: Ileana D'Cruz in MainTera hero and Alia Bhatt in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania.
Ayushmann Khurrana: Yami Gautam in Vicky Donor, Pooja Salvi in Nautanki Saala, Sonam Kapoor in Bewakoofiyaan
Sushant Singh Rajput: Parineeti Chopra in Shuddh Desi Romance
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