Emraan is an angry man
Emraan Hashmi is reportedly rather upset with Mahesh Bhatt for not doing enough publicity for Awarapan. Though he considers Mahesh Bhatt as his mentor, he didn't pull back from telling Bhatt that the publicity 'was lousy'. The film seems to be doing decent business simply by word to mouth publicity.
When contacted, Emraan said, "I think Bhatt sahab should have been more aggressive and vocal about the film. It was by far my biggest film as far as Vishesh Films is concerned. But it was given a very low profile."
What's more, Emraan feels Bhatt kept himself aloof from the project, and didn't talk much about it to the media. "He should have understood that the film was releasing with Anil Sharma's Apne and Himesh Reshammiya's Aap Kaa Surroor, both of which were big productions," he rues. "At least they had a much better publicity designer. We were somehow lost in the crowd and that was the reason why it got such a lukewarm response from people," he adds.
So did he confront Mahesh Bhatt for not living up to his expectation? "Oh yes, I did. I did meet him and expressed my thoughts. I think he should have highlighted the film. It was becoming difficult for me to come to the forefront because I had two back-to-back releases and I think I have exhausted whatever I could do with the media. So, they didn't have anything new to ask and I didn't have anything new to offer. But that shouldn't affect the film. Bhatt sahab is a very good speaker and his interviews would have really made some difference," he said.
But Emraan is happy with the kind of response he has been getting for Awarapan. "It's true that critics have liked my performance in the film and I’m glad that people are coming to the theatre to watch the film. I admit that the initial collection was terrible, and that has definitely hampered the film. I guess Bhatt sahab has realised his mistake and he will be careful the next time," sighs Emraan.
Vishesh Films has now decided to release the film in Pakistan. "This will be for the first time that any Indian film will be released simultaneously in India and Pakistan. Earlier, Akbar Khan's Taj Mahal was released, but that was weeks after the film was released in India," he points out.
