Madhur took me by surprise when he offered me a romcom: Emraan

Emraan Hashmi says he was taken aback when director Madhur Bhandarkar offered him `Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji` as he felt he did not fit the bill of romantic movies.

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi, who will be soon seen for the first time in a romcom, says he was taken aback when director Madhur Bhandarkar offered him `Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji` as he felt he did not fit the bill of romantic movies.

"I was offered couple of romantic comedies earlier but I thought I don`t fit the bill of fairy tale stories...the romance space that Bollywood generally tries to show. But in this film because of Madhur`s sense of realism in it I wanted to be part of it," Emraan told reporters. "When I met Madhur I thought he would offer me films like `Page 3` or so. I was wondering on which area of society he is making a film now…thought he would do something on the film industry. I was surprised and at the same time taken aback...thrown off when he told me about his new project, a romcom," the 31-year-old actor said. The film also stars Ajay Devgn, Omi Vaidya, Shazahn Padamsee, Shruti Haasan and Shraddha Das in lead roles. When asked if he was taking risk as this genre was not Madhur`s forte, Emraan said, "I like to take risks. I want to taste different waters and do something new. I am comfortable doing risky subjects as with that you bring something new as an actor. The industry will want you to do those things that you are good or best at, but the audience wants to see different things." The actor, who is best known for his kissing scenes has earlier done dark and intense roles in films like `Gangster`, `Jannat`, and `Once Upon A Time In Mumbai` among others. On his role in the film, in which he is paired opposite Shruti Haasan, Emraan said, "I essay Abhay who works for a gym. He is a trainer. His ideology about love, life and money is different. He is quite forward thinking. He does not believe in love and does not want to confine himself to a relationship. But then he finds a woman at the gym." The film will hit cinema houses on January 28. "I bank heavily on my every film. It adds to your resume. I want to start the year with a bang," he said. PTI