Actor Emraan Hashmi says he would rather play the character in his films than just be an actor.

Horror is here to stay

Actor Emraan Hashmi, on his first visit to Allahabad, for the promotion of Ek Thi Daayan, a horror thriller, Emraan says horror as a genre is here to stay.

"Numbers go in favour of horror films. Raaz 3 had a great opening and did great business. A huge chunk of the audience wants to come to theatres to get scared. The excitement is palpable in both comedy and horror, but is missing in drama. So, that's the reason I prefer horror over drama because the audiences reaction is immediate. Horror makes people jump out of their seats.

There is a misconception about spooky films being dependent on special effects, but the best of horror films, right from The Exorcist to The Omen, never used special effects, though the visual effects in the form of makeup was there. In India, a film like Raaz3 has upped the bar in terms of visual effects in horror and Ek Thi Daayan will do it further. Horror is now part of mainstream cinema in India, which was not so till a few years back," he says.

Not comfortable with the familiar

Known for his association with the Bhatt camp, Emraan is now a regular in Ekta Kapoor's films. However, according to the actor, "Comfort zone kills an actor. The more uncomfortable you are, the better you act, the more cushy you get, the worse you get as an actor. I have seen it happening to myself.

The films which I was comfortable doing and was confident about, did not fare well at the box office. Though repeating

Opposites attract

Emraan, who has worked in two films with Vidya Balan, both of which were women-centric films, says that playing second-fiddle has never crossed his mind. "I am an extremely secure actor and my career graph is not dependent on any one component of the film.

I have the courage and conviction to work in a film which other stars may hesitate to be associated with. Though as an artiste, I would like to do biopics and especially films like The Aviator. It remains a dream role for me," he says.

The actor who would be teaming up with Kareena Kapoor in Karan Johar and Ekta Kapoor's joint venture, further adds, "The film, which is an edgy love story, will go on floors at the end of this year. It could be a strange pairing but odd couples are far more sexy, the chemistry between them is more interesting which is why Bollywood is going out of the way to cast such actors together. The Dirty Picture is the best example of this where I was paired opposite Vidya. The audiences' response confirmed that odd couples do create magic," he says.

(Interview published in TOI)