Murder 3 will stand out without Emraan: Mahesh

A sequel needs to have a star or a character which binds one film to the other. As Mahesh Bhatt gets ready to launch the third edition of his franchise 'Murder', we ask him if brand 'Murder' will survive without brand Emraan Hashmi. Excerpts:

Will Murder 3 work without Emraan Hashmi?

It will fly inspite of Emraan if you believe in this dogma that filmmakers have been haranguing about that ultimately, it is the narrative which decides the destiny of a film. And it is not dependent on a star's persona, but is dependent on competent actors who can give credible performances and make the film credible. And I think we have a fine actor who is coming fast into his own called Randeep Hooda who is in his place. There are people who feel that the Murder brand, rightly associated with Emraan, would be poorer without him, but I would say to them that while their fears are understandable, they are baseless. I have never depended on a star of any kind in the films that have carved out my career. They are all films that are rich deep in content. Murder 3 will stand on its own without the brand Emraan.

The success of Murder 3 will determine the contribution of Emraan in it. Does this put pressure on you?

The brand Emraan has some contribution of mine. Like a fool, I would not claim complete proprietorship of that brand as I know that no matter how good the gardener is, he has to have the humility, the intelligence and the grace to understand an obvious truth that if the clay is not there, it cannot be moulded. Emraan was the right clay that was moulded by us in a particular way to suit our mutual needs and it served the purpose. The entire decade was spent in investing in brand Emraan and it stood up and delivered and there is no denying that, but after that, you need to do what the city has been doing forever.

Every year, we have the Ganesh festival where we create the idol of Lord Ganesh, pray to it and finally immerse the icon with reverence into the ocean till next year when we fashion a new icon. And that's what we should do. We should create icons with all the love and give them reverence and finally there comes a time, when you have to say good bye to them and from the clay you bring back, you need to create somebody else. So having done that, we are now on the threshold of creating something new. The moment Emraan became an in-house star, there was a tendency to get stuck in the parameters that we had created and to be repetitive.

At times, change is forced on you and your creative juices, if they are alive, will respond to that change and bravely embrace that unknown path that lies ahead and we have repeatedly done that and have been able to get so far. Don't forget that when I hung myself as a director in 1998, people said that it was the end of Vishesh films. I told my brother that we will make our company without stars and he was dumbfounded. I told him it was time to not lean on stars but become stars because no matter how big those stars are, they will at most play the role of crutches, be it diamond or gold ones. The Sun may be a God, but when the sun sets, it leaves darkness. So that's why the sages have said that be a light by yourself. Having thrown ourselves in the arena, our feet were shaky in the beginning, but we have survived and created innumerable hits over the last decade.

Did you offer Emraan Murder 3?

Yes, it was offered to him, but he did not want to do it as perhaps it is a woman's story. Also, it did not cater to his needs of films of an 'A' lister aspiring to be in the 100 crore club.

Are you emotionally hurt by his decision to not do it?

We needed to decide whether he would be a part of our narrative or would we be a part of his narrative. There was a time when he was a part of our narrative. But then life made him taste success and he became a force to reckon with and rightly so, you have to face the one blunt truth. That no matter how close you are, no two individuals are journeying towards the same destination. We all have different destinations to journey to and that is what we find difficult to face and inevitably manipulate the other person to abort their flight and come along with you. Having given him wings, I would certainly not clip them. I am not a parent that uses his child as a crutch to get on in life. The worst thing a man does is to leave his fellow human being with the feeling of indebtedness. He is not indebted to me in any way.

I marvel at his achievements and he is an extraordinary boy with a great future. Our destinations compel us to take different routes, but we will meet at some other crossroad and work again. But Murder 3 is certainly richer today as the serial kisser and the overt sexual attribute may have worked against the film in the current environment. The film looks at the insecurity of a woman who is uncertain about the heart of her mate with whom she is in love.

How much does the need to be a part of the 100 crore club influence you as a producer?

The entertainment business is committed to create every weekend the miracle of the highest numbers. The blockbuster mentality rules each and every one. 100 crores is like the gold we are obsessed with which does not allow us to recognise a person who wins a silver or a bronze. There is no denying that human greed has created great structures that are now in our landscape which make us proud and ambitious. But you can't have one design that fits all. Each product is designed to deliver business of a certain order. But profit is what matters at the end and that is what governs us. Even though our films have not touched the 100-crore mark, they are profitable many a times more than the 100-crore films.