"I watch a romcom only when my wife drags me" - Emraan Hashmi

Cinemimi[Sunday, January 29, 2011]

Interview by Cinemimi Team]
Emraan Hashmi is happy that for his first ever romcom, he chose ''Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji''. Though he has played a mischievous and naughty character for almost each of his earlier films, hardly a few belonged to the romantic genre. And now that he would be seen in this Madhur Bhandarkar directed affair, Emraan is happy that he has managed to be romantic without falling into the kind of setup that Yash Chopra films excel in...

Emraan, what is that excites you most about 'Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji'?
What works most in favour of 'Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji' is the man at the hot seat, Madhur Bhandarkar. He is anyways known for his realistic portrayal of situations. We have seen that in his dark films. Now that he is making a light hearted film, you can sense his touch yet again.

Can you elaborate that?

Well, for starters he has made a film which, despite its romantic genre, departs from a typical Yash Chopra film that involves singing and dancing around the trees. Moreover, 'Dil To Baccha Hai Ji' is not a fairy tale; it is real and tells it's audience that 'Hey look, this is how people actually fall in love'!

Well, I can sense that you are obviously enthusiastic about the film now that it is ready for release. However, were you as enthusiastic when Bhandarkar first approached you for the film? After all you aren't seen in too many multi starrers though your last release, 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai', was an exception.

(Laughs) There is a story behind this as well. When Madhur had called me to his office, the film that he was said to be concentrating on at that time was 'Heroine'. I thought that may be he had a part for me there and I was being cast in 'Heroine'. It was only when I met him when he told me about making this film which was about three guys and their love stories with each of them being situational.

But was it an instant call for you? Weren't you apprehensive about how you would fit into a romcom?
Yes, I had to ponder over it for while before saying yes. Really, I don't understand romcoms at all and if someone was to ask me, I would say that attempting this genre is the last thing that I would have liked to do. Even as an audience, I watch a romcom only when my wife drags me; otherwise I avoid it as much as possible. I come more from this school of intense, topical and dramatic cinema (smiles).

guess the fact that 'Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji' won't be treading an oft repeated path changed your mind, right?
As I had stated earlier, Madhur is quite good at realism. He has brought his own touch into the narrative of 'Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji' as well. He has shown that even for guys, romance is not so easy; there are lots of hardships involved. I really liked that because that's what takes the film away from a clichéd Bollywood fairy tale romance. I had to say yes so here I am (smiles).