Q.
You
had
earlier
mentioned
that
after
watching
the
trailer
of
'Why
Cheat
India',
a
lot
of
people
messaged
you
saying
that
it's
a
very
refreshing
Emraan
Hashmi
2.0.
Over
the
years,
your
choice
of
films
have
become
more
refined.
Was
there
a
turning
point
for
you
which
brought
about
that
change
or
it
just
happened
organically?
A.
I
think
it
happened
organically.
You
can't
expect
it
to
happen
overnight.
Your
life
experiences-
both
personal
and
professional
all
put
together,
have
a
great
influence
on
the
kind
of
actor
you
become
and
the
way
you
steer
the
course
of
your
profession.
I
think
it's
also
about
a
little
frustration
with
the
saturation
point
you
have
after
repeating
yourself
in
films.
In
our
film
industry
when
something
works,
they
really
want
to
do
it
again
and
again.
That
becomes
a
safety
net.
In
my
case,
some
of
the
things
were
becoming
repetitive
and
cliche
for
me,
some
of
it
were
life-experiences,
growing
up
and
maturing
in
cinema.
High-
concept
films
are
now
probably
the
next
stage
in
my
career
where
I
can
pitch
something
unique
and
different
to
the
audience.
Things
can't
happened
overnight
because
you
need
the
audience
to
accept
you
in
a
different
avatar
which
takes
its
own
course
of
time.
Q.
In
retrospect
when
you
look
back
at
your
films,
do
you
regret
taking
certain
decisions?
A.
No,
I
don't.
I
think
every
decision
and
every
film
has
led
me
to
who
I
am
and
where
I
am
as
a
person.
And
if
I
went
back,
I
wouldn't
want
to
have
it
any
other
way.
Things
happened
at
the
right
time.
I
learnt
from
my
failures
and
the
films
that
were
not
pleasant
experiences.
Also,
no
experience
has
been
that
bad.
It's
just
that
sometimes
the
films
don't
shape
up
the
way
you
think
they
will.
But
then,
you
learn
more
from
your
failures
than
your
successes.
Q.
In
one
of
your
recent
interviews,
you
said
that
box
office
numbers
limit
to
the
confines
of
a
box.
Now
that
you
have
turned
producer
with
'Why
Cheat
India',
how
do
you
view
the
equation
between
films
and
box
office
numbers?
A.
Box
office
numbers
are
important
to
a
certain
extent.
At
the
end
of
the
day,
films
are
made
for
the
profit;
you
won't
do
a
film
where
you
have
to
face
losses.
But
if
you
only
look
at
box
office
numbers,
then
you
have
to
look
at
past
references
of
the
films
that
have
done
well
and
that
restricts
you
as
a
creative
person.
Because
those
box
office
numbers
are
based
on
a
certain
truth
that
they
had
at
that
time.
You
will
never
take
a
step
in
the
new
direction
because
your
mind
will
tell
you
that
it's
never
been
tried
out
before
so
probably
it
won't
succeed.
Instead,
you
will
tend
to
try
something
which
had
already
succeeded
and
had
box
office
numbers
to
prove
it.
In
such
case,
you
will
only
end
up
playing
in
that
confines
of
the
box.
You
will
never
think
out-of-the-box.
So,
it's
important
to
not
just
go
down
the
analysis
of
box
office
numbers,
but
to
make
a
film
that
you
believe
in,
go
by
instinct
and
be
hopeful
that
film
will
do
well
at
the
box-office.
Q.
Biopics
are
back
in
vogue
now
and
you
had
been
a
part
of
one
in
the
past
(Azhar).
Most
of
the
times,
there
are
allegations
that
the
representation
of
these
films
is
to
'whitewash
somebody's
image'.
Do
you
think
in
India,
we
still
have
a
long
way
to
go
when
it
comes
to
making
biopics?
A.
Yes,
completely.
We
have
a
long
way
to
go
in
other
genres
as
well.
(smiles).
We
justify
things
in
our
films.
We
justify
bad
actions
and
wrong
doings
in
such
films.
What's
refreshing
about
'Why
Cheat
India' is
that
nothing
justified
or
we
aint
giving
anyone
any
advice.
My
character
is
doing
something
wrong,
but
that's
completely
out
of
greed
and
ambition.
There's
no
other
reason.
No
one
died
in
his
family.
He
isn't
poverty-strike
because
of
which
he
had
to
do
what
he
does.
Each
person
has
their
own
justification
to
what
they
do.
There's
a
reason
why
people
do
things.
There's
no
sob
story
behind
it.
Speaking
about
biopics,
firstly
to
make
the
character
interesting,
the
makers
make
it
more
endearing.
They
don't
show
the
dark
qualities
of
the
character.
Everything
is
sunny.
Everything
is
made
likable
to
make
it
popular.
In
trying
to
achieve
that,
you
actually
change
the
entire
character
of
the
person.
What's
just
left
is
the
caricature
of
who
the
actual
person
is.
You
don't
actually
get
to
see
the
person
on
whose
life
that
film
has
been
made.
Instead,
it's
just
a
series
of
Bollywood
events
that
take
place
in
that
person's
life
which
are
written
and
curated
to
make
it
palatable
and
more
interesting
for
the
audience.
Usually,
the
biopics
abroad
in
the
west
are
more
true
to
who
the
person
is
even
if
it's
about
his
good
or
bad
experiences
or
there's
something
questionable
about
that
person.
Q.
But
then,
do
you
think
that's
got
to
do
something
with
the
audience
here?
A.
A
little
bit
of
that
and
a
little
bit
of
the
makers.
I
think
everybody
is
at
fault
(laughs).
It's
not
just
the
audience.
They
don't
know
what
they
want
to
see
till
the
makers
don't
give
it
to
them.
But
I
think
that's
changing
now.
There
are
real
films
being
made.
Things
are
not
justified
or
jingoistic.
Q.
These
days,
films
come
with
their
own
set
of
controversies.
For
example,
if
the
film
is
based
on
a
political
figure,
you
have
political
parties
raising
objections
or
it's
a
period
film,
you
have
religious
outfits
accusing
of
offended
sentiments.
Do
you
think
that
restricts
the
freedom
of
expression
in
the
creative
space?
Of
course,
it
does.
You
can't
hope
to
make
a
controversial
film
in
our
country,
without
facing
backlash
from
certain
communities
or
the
world
of
politics.
It's
not
possible.
We
have
seen
dimes
and
dozen
stories
in
the
past
of
things
being
changed
or
Censor
Board
chopping
off
stuff
or
titles
being
changed,
all
these
things
happen.
It's
not
as
liberal
as
we
think
it
is
and
the
industry
becomes
soft-targets.
Instead,
there
are
other
things
out
that
need
to
be
curated.
We
have
to
think
twice
before
doing
anything
which
is
remotely
sensitive.
Even
if
you
are
ready
to
pick
a
fight
with
a
lot
of
people,
the
loser
in
the
end
is
the
producer,
director
and
the
actor.
Everybody
works
hard
in
a
film
and
you
have
people
pulling
it
down.
Even
if
one
is
bold
to
put
it
out
there,
the
exhibitors
and
distributors
are
scared
of
mob-protests
and
vandalism
in
theatres.