By Hindustan Times
Actor Emraan Hashmi was introduced to Bollywood by filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, and the 62-year-old now feels that he needn't lean at the actor anymore, as he has become a “safe” film star. It was Bhatt who gave Emraan his first break in 2003 with the film Footpath, where he played a
supporting role alongside actors Bipasha Basu and Aftab Shivdasani. However it was the film Murder a year later that brought him recognition. He continued to work with the Bhatt camp in lots of films including Gangster (2006), Jannat (2008), Tum Mile (2009) and Murder 2 (2011).
“Emraan, post Murder 2 and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, has had phenomenal success. Today, he's an important star. Having created a monster, we can't let this monster devour us. Otherwise, what's the point of claiming that we are going to not work with stars?” said Bhatt. He added, “Emraan has people to work with, so that it will make him richer. He's our flesh but he doesn't need to work with us always. This is why Kunal Khemu is among the actors in whom we can invest. Even Randeep Hooda is a smart actor. His potential has not been exploited properly and there are lots of more like him. We won't lean on Emraan only. We will be able to move clear of the security of being with him.”
