At a recent event in Mumbai on Wednesday, January 8, actor Emraan Hashmi recalled his experiences with airport security and immigration checks, reflecting the sense of anxiety and profiling often faced by travelers. The occasion was the trailer launch of his upcoming web series. Taskery: The Smuggler’s WebIn which he plays the role of a customs officer. Asked whether he was ever stopped at the green channel, Hashmi gave candid details about his previous encounters at airports.

Hashmi said he has generally found customs officials to be polite, but he also noticed an underlying fear that persists during travel. He explained, “No, I think they have been very good to me. Whenever I travel back, they are very sweet. But it is not logical to have this kind of extreme fear. It’s like when you learn to drive, but when you see an RTO officer on the road, you suddenly get worried. So that’s what happens. When I’m traveling alone, even if I’ve only packed clothes, you still feel like you’re carrying a car with you.” Carrying 100 kg of contraband in bags while moving through green channel.”

The actor further explained that although the fear is not irrational, his initial experiences with immigration checks were different. Hashmi said, “But this is not logical at all. When I used to travel alone I would get called in at the immigration check much earlier, probably because of earrings or luggage. But now, when they see me with my lovely family, they don’t doubt me. Earlier, in the early 2000s, I would have been turned away quite a bit. It’s called profiling. I fit someone’s bill, but I don’t know who that person is.” Was.”

Hashmi reflected on the concept of profiling at airports and said such incidents were more frequent earlier in his career. He attributed his appearance to some of these conditions, such as wearing earrings, but also acknowledged that the reasons behind being examined were not always clear.

During the discussion, Hashmi indicated that there is less scrutiny now when he travels with his family. He said having his family with him changes the security personnel’s perception of him when he used to travel alone. He suggested that these comments were shaped by changing attitudes and practices at airports over the years.

Emraan Hashmi’s comments come in the context of his new role as a customs officer Taskery: The Smuggler’s Weba series created by Neeraj Pandey. The show explores the lives of customs officers and the complexities of smuggling networks. The series featuring Hashmi along with Sharad Kelkar, Zoya Afroz and Nandish Singh Sandhu is set to premiere on Netflix on January 14.

Before this project, Hashmi had appeared in Suparn Verma’s courtroom drama RightIn which Yami Gautam was also there. Right Inspired by the life and legal battle of Shah Bano Begum, in whose case divorced Muslim women were given the right to maintenance following a landmark Supreme Court judgment in 1985.

Hashmi’s personal account in the program provided insight into the realities of travel and security for public figures, while highlighting broader issues of profiling and changing attitudes to airport processes in India over the past two decades.