Emraan Hashmi: Real and the Reel

Nothing sticks stronger than a label in Bollywood, and actor Emraan Hashmi knows that well. The 37-year-old’s mercurial career in the film industry — from lead roles in Murder, Jannat and most recently Hamari Adhuri Kahani, to critically-acclaimed supporting roles in Shanghai and Kalyug — belies a man who, though raised in the industry, has had to struggle to fit in. The actor recently launched his book, titled The Kiss Of Life–How a Superhero and My Son Defeated Cancer (Penguin), in collaboration with author Bilal Siddiqi. The book chronicles Hashmi’s struggle with his six-year-old son’s cancer, along with his own in the film industry, pulling together a personal as well as an informative narrative. Excerpts:

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The book is as much about your personal journey as it is about cancer awareness.

It’s been three years since Ayan was diagnosed with cancer. I felt a lot of parents are going through this right now. It’s like an epidemic, not just in our country, but across the world. Everyone, like me, has so many misconceptions about the disease. I felt that there is something I can do to help them and they don’t need to feel the fear that we felt in the beginning. I want to extend this book into a documentary.

Your book intersperses the story of your son’s illness along with your struggle in the film industry in Mumbai. Is there a reason why you chose this narrative?

That was Hussain’s (Zaidi, author) idea. When we were getting down to documenting my son’s struggle with cancer, he said that, maybe, it would be too grim for the readers. It’s informative and it’s an important journey, but, at the same time, it is essential to know where I come from, my roots and experiences — things that define the person that I am. Through this, people can appreciate the change that my son has brought in my life.

How did the book come about?

The book happened when I returned from Toronto from his treatment three years ago. I met Hussain and he said that we should document this in a book. When I got Ayan back from chemotherapy, to Mumbai, it became a recurring thought. After the treatment got over in June, I decided to go ahead with it. We started writing in November 2013.

Don’t you feel that the title of the book reinforces stereotypes about your work?

I kept throwing titles at Penguin and Hussain. Earlier, the title was ‘Don the Cape’, then it was ‘Superhero Kids’. The Kiss of Life just happened. I was cooking at home and I suddenly popped up with the name. I called Bilaal and he started laughing on the phone. He said this will definitely get picked up and I will get a call back within minutes. That is exactly what happened. Because it is marketable, I guess.

There is a lot of reference to American superheroes. Are you into it or your son?

I love superheroes, and so does my son. I used to refer to superheroes to make him do things before he fell ill. If he wasn’t eating or not having his milk, I used to ‘call up’ Batman, which was mostly a photo of the character saved on my wife’s phone. Whenever I would call, that image used to flash with the photograph. He obviously thought it was Batman. We used that during chemotherapy too.

You have spoken about how, right from your first break (Footpath, 2003), you were instantly drawn to darker roles. This is true for most of your movies.

It’s just that the films that came my way were a certain kind of films. I identify with those films more and I like those kind of directors. I like those kind of superheroes too.

For instance, I don’t like Superman, I like Batman. That indicates the kind of characters I would like to play.

You have spoken openly about religious and artistic discrimination — including being denied tenancy in a housing society in Pali Hill in 2009 (which you have talked about in the book), and most recently on the censor board coming down on films. Actors, of late, are speaking up against the rising atmosphere of intolerance, but there’s been a huge backlash even for stars such as Aamir Khan. How important is it for someone like you to be vocal?

I think everyone is entitled to communicate what they feel and if they have an issue, they should voice it. Though, sometimes, the issue explodes into something else. This is what I realised with the housing society thing. It was an issue that I had and suddenly it became a national thing. For me, it was very surprising because I’m married to a Hindu, my dad is a Muslim and my mom is a Christian. We are secular in the sense that in our house we respect each others’ faith. It was very hard for me to understand that an educated society in my neighbourhood was doing this.