Vi segnalo l'intervista concessa da Emraan Hashmi a Sonil Dedhia, pubblicata da Rediff il 5 giugno 2012. Emraan: Never thought I would end up where I am today:
'Shanghai is one of the biggest movies of the year. What do you think of that?
It's a new time in our industry with the kind of films that are being made and Shanghai is one step in that direction. All these years our industry has functioned in a formulaic way where if something becomes a hit or works at the box office, it gets repeated again and again. Very few filmmakers step out of the crease and try to do something different and Dibakar Banerjee is one of them. I would like to work in more films like Shanghai which surprise audiences. I would like Shanghai to do the same kind of business that any other commercial film would do.
Director Dibakar Banerjee and you have explored the diverse sides of filmmaking. How has working with him benefited you?
The way Dibakar shoots the film is very different from the way I have worked in my films. He does a lot of research and I guess that can be seen when he starts making the film. He starts scripting the film a year before he shoots it and the post-production takes almost a year. That's commendable. He takes almost three years from the ideation to completion of a film. There is intent to make a brilliant film. I've always wanted to work with a director like Dibakar. He doesn't overlook minor details. He wants to do things out of the box and break the mould of how you would perceive an actor or a film and present it in a completely different way.
Were you on the same page as Dibakar since day one?
It was difficult for me to get into the process of how Dibakar functions. I work in a certain style. Generally, I read the script, learn the dialogues, go on the sets and give my shot. Dibakar wanted me to get into the skin of the character. He made me go through 10 workshops and then he started working on my physical appearance. I had to put on weight for my character. I started working on my character almost a month and a half in advance, which is unlike anything that I have done before.
It's true that you look very different in this film from what we have seen before.
My character in the film is quite complex. I play a small-town journalist, who also shoots marriage videos. He is also a photographer and also shoots porn films. I've never played a character from a small town and so this role was very different for me, both in terms of getting into his psyche and changing my physicality. Let me tell you, before Shanghai I never attended any workshop to prepare for my character.
Did you, at any point of time, question Dibakar about your looks in the film?
No, but I asked him whether he could have made me look any worse and he replied, 'Give me one more film and I will make you look even worse.'
You have admitted that you are not a good dancer but you managed to dance very freely in one of the songs.
It was very difficult for me to do the dance steps in Bharat Mata Ki Jai. I have issues when people give me dance steps when I am on the sets. Dibakar knew that and asked the choreographer to give me the steps well in advance. I also saw a lot of videos of processions and would rehearse a lot after watching them. In fact, the day we shot the song, Dibakar also did the steps to make me comfortable. (...)
You have never been in any controversies nor are you seen on the party circuit.
When I am not working on a film, I dissociate from films completely. I like to enjoy my space. I like to travel so I keep travelling. Also I have non-filmi friends so they don't talk about films. I like to keep it that way'.
