10 Years Of Jannat The film that gave a new direction to Emraan Hashmi's career

- Anish Mohanty           Let us know what you think about this article

In 2008, the first edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) was launched. There was a lot of excitement about this new format of cricket which was going to bring several world-renowned cricketers together in different teams. The IPL was going to be played and telecast in the summer of 2008 and most filmmakers decided it would not be wise to release their films during this period. Films like 'Tashan', 'U Me Aur Hum' and 'Krazzy 4' which were backed by names like Aditya Chopra, Ajay Devgn and Rakesh Roshan respectively released during this period and did not do great business at the box-office. The major reason behind these films not doing well was the fact that they had poor content but most industry insiders thought it was because of the IPL wave. 'Jannat' released when the IPL fever was at its peak and its success proved that releasing films during the IPL is not a bad idea at all. The success of the film also turned out to be an important event in Hashmi's career.

Between 'Gangster' (2006) and 'Jannat', five of Emraan's films had released and sunk at the box-office without a trace. Apart from helping him come out of a professional crisis, the film also endeared him to a new audience - the families. 'Jannat', unlike most of the films he had done, was an 'U/A' certified film and despite dealing with a fairly heavy subject, it was quite a family-friendly film. The film went on to collect around 30 crores at the box office in 2008 and made a lot of people realise that there was a larger audience waiting to see Hashmi's films than one had imagined. Perhaps, Emraan was the one who failed to understand this at that point of time. His next film 'Raaz The Mystery Continues', though successful, was an A-rated horror film. 'Tum Mile' was a family-friendly film but it failed to do well at the box-office.

Emraan delivered a few more successful films in the following years but only a few of them like 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai' were U/A certified films. In 2012, after a string of back-to-back successes he was being touted as the 'prince of the masses' by many but ironically, 2012 was the year in which he delivered his last hit 'Raaz 3D'. He has not had a hit since then. Emraan has mostly been liked in ruffian-like roles but I liked him the most in 'Hamari Adhuri Kahaani' in which he played a very mature and endearing character. Although I did not like the film, there was something about his character and the way he portrayed it that made it my favourite out of all the ones he has played.

Emraan will be next seen in 'Cheat Inndia' which also marks his debut as a producer. One hopes he gets his mojo right with this film and manages to woo his loyal fanbase which likes him for his serial-kisser image and also to the ones who liked him in family entertainers.

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