Emraan Hashmi has reflected on how he gradually moved out of the ‘serial kisser’ and ‘lover boy’ image that followed him for most of his career, saying it was never about a defined role but a journey shaped by multiple performances. In a recent interview, the actor talked about being called a ‘one-trick pony’ by critics and how a series of diverse films helped him move beyond typecasting.

Imran said, “There is no one (role), it’s never just one. It’s always a journey.” Hindustan TimesExplaining that projects such as shanghai And tiger 3 Played an important role in reshaping the way he was perceived. He further added, “In a way, paradise Broke the mold, as did Once Upon a Time in Mumbai. So yeah, it was a whole bunch of movies.

Considering the criticism he faced early in his career, Imran said he did not consider it unfair. “I wouldn’t say the critics were unfair. They had their own opinions about the movies, but I knew I could do it. So I just bounce back at them and say, ‘I can do that.’ shanghai‘. So, if you say that looking at a director like Dibakar (Banerjee), I am just a one-trick pony here, then I can do it. So it was not just for me, but to prove something.

more recently, The actor found himself back Came into limelight after playing a version of himself in scoundrels of bollywoodA cameo that went viral and was loved by the young audience. Reflecting on how that moment affected his career, Imran admitted that he was unsure about its long-term impact. “I don’t really know what the domino effect will be for me eventually. But it’s very difficult, the whole game of relevance. When you talk about crossing the age of 35-40, it’s a whole new audience that comes up. And when something like this comes up, in b***dsThat’s the voice of Gen Z.

Imran said that many of these young audiences will not be familiar with his filmography. “They’re people who maybe haven’t seen my movies; they’ve seen the songs, they’ve seen stuff on Instagram. They’ve probably seen a few videos. It’s just that they connect, and then want to see more of this guy, because it hits a visual bullseye. So, the whole audience starts consuming it somewhere.”

Speaking about masculinity in the digital age, the actor said that it remains a mystery to him. “I don’t understand this virality thing. I don’t know how it works. You can’t manufacture it. That’s the thing. Yes, a lot of things are being manufactured. You can buy anything on Instagram right now, but it’s unrepeatable. It’s something that’s priceless,” he said.

Comparing it with music, Imran concluded by saying, “Someone told me the other day singing song Or play song (Working on a song and doing a song) are different. play song That means you keep bombarding it, and we can do it with songs. But with a chartbuster, you just need to verbalize it, and it rocks. Its mileage is the same. It moves forward.”