I prefer to play dark characters: Emraan Hashmi

Dec 26, 2008 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 26 (IANS) Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi, who has stayed away from doing boy-next-door kind of roles, maintains that he would rather portray dark characters than do roles where he would be required to dance around trees.

"I prefer to do dark characters. That's closer to me and that's what I enjoy doing more. I cannot insanely dance around trees; at least till the time the role really doesn't demand that," Emraan told IANS on phone from Mumbai.

The actor is yet again playing a character with grey shades in his upcoming supernatural thriller "Raaz - The Mystery Continues", a sequel to the Bipasha Basu and Dino Morea starrer 2002 hit film "Raaz".

"I'm playing a painter. He can foresee the future and paints the same on his canvas. My character is dark and complicated and has no contact with the outside world," Emraan said.

Isn't he nervous about the comparison being made with the original?

"I'm sure there will be comparisons with the earlier 'Raaz'. That's bound to happen," said Emraan. But I'm sure that people will love this one too since it's got all the ingredients to be successful at the box office. This film has a different plot and will give a new definition to the horror genre."

The film, being co-produced by Sony BMG and Vishesh Films, is set to release Jan 23 next year. Emraan has teamed up with Kangana Ranaut and Shekhar Suman's son Adhyayan in the movie.

Emraan, who entered Hindi filmdom in 2003 with "Footpath", shot to fame with hit films like "Murder", "Zeher", "Aashiq Banaya Aapne" and "Gangster - A Love Story", among others.

The actor is usually seen only in the films produced by the Bhatt camp.

"I am very comfortable with Vishesh Films and the Bhatt (Mukesh and Mahesh) camp. They churn out good films and have always given me scripts that helped me to prove myself. Every actor is hungry for good roles and Vishesh Films has always given me challenging characters to portray," explained Emraan.

The actor, who was once infamous for his "serial kisser" tag, is gradually trying to break away from the image.

"I've not done kissing scenes in my last three films. I don't know why people have typecast me and put me in that bracket. I don't do things unnecessarily, a particular shot is given only if the scene and the role demand it," he said.

Emraan's other forthcoming films are "Raftaar" with Esha Deol and "Tum Milean" with Soha Ali Khan.

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Raaz - The Mystery Continues