Hollywood film will open many doors for me: Emraan Hashmi

From starting his Bollywood journey with a supporting role to working with Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic, Emraan Hashmi has come a long way and the actor is hoping that his debut Hollywood film will open many doors for him. "It is high concept story, has an Indian team behind it and a director like Danis, who has a lot of clout globally. I am hoping that this film will open all the doors for me," Hashmi told PTI in an interview over the phone from Berlin.

The 33-year-old actor walked the red carpet for the world premiere of Tanovic's latest film, An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker at the Berlin International Film Festival with the director and producer Prashita Chaudhary recently. Tanovic is best known in India for his Bosnian war drama 'No Man's Land' that beat Aamir Khan's Lagaan and three other films to win the best foreign film Oscar in 2001. His next untitled will have a strong India connect and stars Hashmi in the lead. It is being produced by Anurag Kashyap Films Ltd, Sikhya Entertainment and Cinemorphic.

Hashmi started his career with Footpath and went on to work in commercial hits like Murder, Gangster, Jannat and Raaz 2 but he had to wait for almost a decade to be taken seriously as an actor with Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai and last year's Shanghai. It was his role as a small-town journalist who also work as a part time porn filmmaker in Dibakar Banerjee's political thriller, that convinced Danis to cast him. "Anurag Kashyap saw Shanghai and he really liked my performance in it. He had met Danis in Europe about 7-8 months back. When Anurag came to know about Danis's project, he suggested my name and told Danis that I would fit the role perfectly. Anurag sent me the script. Danis also liked my performance in Shanghai and we were on for the project," said Hashmi.

Hashmi will begin shooting the movie in Berlin post the festival. "The script is by Danis but I can't say much about the story as it would be too early to talk about it now. We begin shooting the film here in Berlin post the festival, before moving the production to India," he said. Meanwhile, Hashmi is enjoying his festival experience at Berlinale, one of the most prestigious cinema events in the world. "The experience has been great so far. I have mostly worked in mainstream films. This is my first film festival. Just meeting people, watching films and being a part of it, adds to your knowledge of cinema so I am enjoying it," he said.

The actor is confident that his debut international project will find its audience beyond India and Bosnia. "Danis is regular to such festivals and he has a lot of clout as a filmmaker. His last film was with Colin Farrell which released in America and Europe. I am sure that our film will do the festivals round before finding a global release," he said.