Emraan Hashmi: My son is healthy, and home now

Emraan Hashmi on his son's fight with cancer and the much talked-about international debut.

Emraan Hashmi has an hour to go before starting the shoot of Kunal Deshmukh's Raja Natwarlal and he is spending the time, pacing around his hotel room while the repeat telecast of a football match plays on TV. It's obvious that his mind is not on the sport. "I'm thinking about the character of a conman I have to slip into soon. Just like an actor aspires to be an Amitabh Bachchan or a Dilip Kumar, it is a conman's dream to to become a Natwarlal, the biggest conman. That's why I insisted we change the title from Shatir to Raja Natwarwal. The film has all elements of a potboiler," explains the actor.

He admits that his return to the 'Bollywood potboiler' format is a conscious attempt to reclaim his box-office standing after twin disasters, Ek Thi Daayan and Ghanchakkar. "Both were experimental films but didn't work. In our industry, if a film is accepted, it's a huge hit, otherwise it's a damp squib," he sighs.

However, he continues to experiment with a Mr. X which is a departure from the traditional Bollywood format. Then, there is Danis Tanovic's film, White Lies, which he has already completed. Danis, whose No Man's Land bagged the Oscar for Best Film in the Foreign Language category in the same year that Lagaan was nominated, will visit India in July to work on certain portions of the film. "We are hoping to premiere it at the Venice Film Festival in November," he informs.

The past few months have been particularly traumatic for Emraan after his four-year-old son Ayan was detected with a tumour in January. The actor flew him down to Toronto for treatment. The child is on the road to recovery and Emraan admits that getting back to work while his son was battling a serious illness was the most difficult thing in the world. "You need to switch gears and focus. I shot both Raja Natwarlal and Mr. X for a month in South Africa, while Ayan was getting treated. Throughout his illness, I managed to hold fast to the belief that everything will be alright. He's healthy and back home now," Emraan smiles, adding, "Obstacles come along but you can't give up. You have to dive in and swim through."

And what about the Karan Johar-Ekta Kapoor's joint production, Badtameez Dil in which he was to star opposite Kareena Kapoor?. "Akshay (director Akshay Roy) was still writing it when I had consented to do the film. I don't really know what happened after that. Then, everybody just upped and walked away from the project. Now I hear, it's happening, but with different actors," he shrugs nonchalantly.

This isn't the first film which hasn't panned out for him. "It happens all the time," he admits. "The Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahi remake too was announced. but I haven't heard a word since."

Unlike other stars, Emraan isn't seen endorsing a brand or even spotted at award shows. "I used to dance at shows earlier but then I evolved," he laughs, and adds,"Let's just say I don't look at award ceremonies to validate myself as an actor." Then what does he look at? "The box-office," he quips.