Discussing the depiction of cops on-screen amid rising instances of police brutality, Emraan Hashmi says his role in Mumbai Saga is work of fiction
Emraan Hashmi
Emraan Hashmi is glad to be back in the groove following a year of uncertainty. With Mumbai Saga, he has the perfect potboiler for big screens that have been hit hard by the pandemic. “I saw the film three weeks ago in this theatre and I called up Gupta (Sanjay Gupta, director) to say that they’ve made the right move by going for a theatrical release. It’s an immersive film. I am glad we didn’t hold out and put ourselves out there to help bring back some semblance of normalcy in the world,” says the actor, who plays cop Savarkar to John Abraham’s gangster.
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Actors are often skittish about featuring in two-hero projects. Hashmi, who has been keen to collaborate with Gupta, says that the director and Abraham welcomed him with open arms. “I loved Kaante [2002], so working with Gupta was always on my bucket list. I’d be lying if I say actors don’t feel insecure, but the anxieties were put to rest on day one. They were warm, and adopted an honest approach to what was on the page. Gupta allows actors to interpret their character and doesn’t crowd you with his own thoughts.”
Emraan Hashmi with John Abraham in the film
On the surface, Mumbai Saga may appear as a classic good-versus-evil story, but Hashmi insists that the director has explored the grey areas. “When my family watched the film, they asked me if my cop was good or bad. People can’t be boxed so simplistically. There are films that have good hearted righteous heroes but I find that rather boring. Painting them in broad strokes doesn’t allow them to mirror life. We all look back at things and think of times when my moral compass was shaken. There’s redemption in life and the same must be in stories. Moreover, one has to understand that for cops to clean up streets in outlaw situations, they have to bend the rules. There’s a certain morality that his duty commands him to adhere to but the situation back then was tough. Bombay had become a lawless land and Savarkar (his character) had to do what he had to, to take control of the situation.”
The past year has brought multiple instances of police brutality to the fore. When asked about the uneven depiction of cops on screen, Hashmi says, “I am an actor who abides by the director’s demands. At the end of the day, this is a film. If we think of so many variables, no film will ever get made. It’s not possible to capture the cause-and-effect of every tiny detail. I hope people know this is a work of fiction. Savarkar in no way depicts the police force. There are bad cops and bad politicians in films and in real life, just as there are good cops and good politicians in real life.”
Hashmi, in the last few years, has been cherry picking projects with greater caution. “I don’t want to be repetitive. As one goes on with career, there are expectations to deliver on. Industry wants to box you constantly. I am looking for fresh things.”
While it is well known that Hashmi stars in Tiger 3 alongside Salman Khan, he remains tight lipped about it. Another outing that was awaited was the second season of Bard of Blood. Ask him where that stands and he says, “We left season 1 on a cliffhanger. It’s easier to adapt a book but it’s trickier to extend it beyond the pages. There was a lot of writing and tearing of pages. At the moment, it’s not happening. But Netflix and Red Chillies are the best people to decide on cracking the idea and take it further.”
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