I was sick of kissing on screen: Emraan Hashmi

Jul 2, 2007 IANS

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) Emraan Hashmi, who has been tagged as a 'serial kisser' by the media, says he is sick of kissing people on screen and is happy that his latest flick "Awarapan" does not have any such scenes.

"I was sick of kissing on screen," the 28-year-old actor said during a news conference in New Delhi to promote "Awarapan". "I was being typecast as a kisser. Thankfully, I'm not kissing anyone in this film.

"When I used to see myself kissing on screen, I did not feel good myself and I can understand what the audience must have felt. There was a time when people came up to me and said that our kids love you but they cannot go to see your films."

He added: "I wanted to break this stereotyping of myself and I took a risk in 'Awarapan' by not doing all that I was previously related to. This film marks the second phase of Emraan Hashmi."

"Awarapan", which deals with the serious issue of flesh trade in Southeast Asia, portrays a Pakistani woman, played by newcomer Mrinalini Sharma, trafficked to Hong Kong.

Emraan Hashmi plays the role of a small time crook from Jodhpur who lands up in Hong Kong and saves the girl from the traffickers. The film, which released June 29, opened to a lukewarm response at the box-office but its business has been picking up since Sunday.

"Awarapan" marks the first major overseas release for Emraan Hashmi.

"The film has been released in over six countries and is doing good business in the US, UK and Dubai. I'm very excited at this response since it's my big overseas release," said the actor, who is sporting long hair and stubble.

The actor, who has acted in around 16 films, has his platter full with two more movies, one with the Bhatt camp titled "Jannat" and the other is touted to be a sequel to "Raaz", a 2002 horror film staring Dino Morea and Bipasha Basu.

Emraan wants to land the role of the ghost in the sequel to "Raaz" and in "Jannat" he plays a bookie. "Jannat" deals with the shady world of betting in cricket and is said to focus on Bob Woolmer's mysterious death during the World Cup.

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