Emraan Hashmi: I cheated in my Economics paper in S.Y.B.Com

Emraan Hashmi. Picture Courtesy: Instagram/therealemraan.

Emraan Hashmi, who has taken a sabbatical from his onscreen 'serial kisser' and 'romantic' roles believes in doing socially relevant films. The actor-producer, who isn't happy with the change of his film's name from Cheat India to Why Cheat India, took to his social media handle and changed his name from Emraan Hashmi to Why Emraan Hashmi. The film revolves around the corruption involved in the education system and how it hampers the future of children. Talking about this film and many other aspects, Emraan Hashmi gets candid with mid-day.com. The film is all set to hit the marquee on January 18, 2019.

Excerpts from the interview:

Have you ever cheated in school?
Yes, I did. I cheated in my Economics paper in S.Y.B.Com but this is something that I am not proud of. But, yes I got the opportunity and I utilized it. I hadn't prepared much for the exam and the invigilator himself had allowed us to cheat. We had our centre in Bandra itself. The invigilator said that you'll have 40 minutes more and can open the book and go ahead, and that's how I secured 65 per cent.

If you had to associate this tagline 'Nakal Me Hi Akal Hai' with anything, what would it be?
When one is in school or college, there are things like these where the exam papers get leaked. When I was in class 12, the papers got leaked and I was tempted to buy it. Obviously, my father shouted at me but the paper that he purchased, through that my entire class benefited. I did not look at the paper until two days before the exam. Later, we found out that they were wrong papers, and what the students prepared was drastically different from the paper that was leaked. So, it happens that you get conned into buying the papers, which aren't accurate.

What are your personal views about this whole racket in the education system?
I think both are cheaters, the one who is cheating and the other who supports is also a cheater. The society should ask, why do children cheat? The system is damaged. Here, you are just emphasizing on the grades and prioritizing it. For which, you just need to do rote-learning. But, for some students, this is just not their forte and can't do this kind of learning. However, this doesn't mean that those students are dumb. The system is made in such a format, which forces the children to cheat because their parents have taken loans for it, and they want satisfying jobs in the future. If you get 60 or 70 per cent, you are termed as failures and that won't land you a good job. This pressure adds to cheating. We are still continuing with the British Raj system. A revolution in the education system is the need of the hour. We are learning about things happened in the past. We should rather focus on what happens in the future.

There are many people, who leave India and go abroad to complete their studies. Do you blame the current education system for it?
Of course! They are going abroad because there is no scope here and the kids are not getting an overall development. Apart from this, there are cheating mafias and even if you are diligently learning, there is no guarantee that you will get your hand on a good job. You might even get a good certification but what value will it carry along? Therefore, people who have access and funds, they send their children abroad because they think they should take this step.

When you heard the film's script, did you see yourself in it?
Yes, I did and that's the reason I not only decided to act but also produce the film. For me, this is a very unique kind of a role, which I haven't explored earlier.

What is the difference between producing and acting?
When you are producing, you not only take care of the acting bit but right from scripting to its screenplay, how will you market the film, its editing… So, you have to keep a tab on all these aspects. I have been an actor for sixteen years and this (producing) was a new experience for me.

Is this transition on purpose, from romantic to slice-of-life films and now strong content-driven ones?
There's nothing like this. There are socially relevant films like Why Cheat India. There are different kinds of films like masala films, romantic films. As an actor, we have to think that we have to do different kinds of films, and not get stereotyped. My next film is a kind of murder mystery.

Also Read: Emraan Hashmi: Change of Cheat India title is illogical, ridiculous

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