'Hamari Adhuri Kahani' my rebirth in Bollywood: Emraan Hashmi

New Delhi: Having done his fair share of horrors, thrillers and action movies in his 12-year-long career, actor Emraan Hashmi is now seeking a rebirth with "Hamari Adhuri Kahani", which is an out-an-out romantic film.

The 36-year-old actor says deciding to star in the upcoming film is not an attempt to shed his on-screen image of a con-man, or a serial kisser, but rather an effort to broaden his range as an actor.

Also, Emraan feels with time he has become responsible and disciplined and he wants that to reflect in his cinema choices.

"It is not so much about getting away from what I have been doing. It has more to do with my concern and priority as an actor. I want to see myself doing something else. When you reach that point in your life, you want cinema to reflect that. It might be a lot of things in your life- getting married, having a kid- all these things bring about changes," Emraan told PTI.

"This was the best way to do it. This is what I was looking for - a rebirth. What I have been doing has been great I am thankful to the 12 years. But something else needed to be done because I have crossed that stage where I want to do something new," he said.

"Hamari Adhuri Kahani" has been directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Mahesh Bhatt under the banner Vishesh Films and Fox Star Studios. It will release on June 12.

Emraan said every actor should constantly make an effort to reinvent themselves in order to avoid monotony in their lives as well as the audience's. He is glad that the film came to him at the right point in his career because he had not touched upon hard core romance before.

"Actors have different stages in their career. You can't do the same thing over and over again. There is a cycle, it generally lasts between 10 to 14 years. Even the audience does not want to see the same thing. So, you need to change the cycle. It means you need to revitalise, look for new content," the actor said. 

Besides the idea of starring in his first romantic film, it was Emraan's uncle and the movie's writer Mahesh Bhatt's narration that moved him to say yes to "Hamari Adhuri Kahani".

The film is based on the love story of Bhatt's parents, Nanabhai Bhatt, Shirin Mohammad Ali and his stepmother.

"My inspiration came from the narration. Bhatt saab is the best as far as emotions go. He is one who understands romance, emotions. I just connected with the film as this is how I like romantic films, it is not devoid of intensity and pain. The story is very personal and real," he said.

In the film, which also stars Vidya Balan and Rajkumar Rao, Emraan plays a rich bachelor, who falls head-over-heels in love with a woman and realises that she is his destiny.

"This man is very righteous, everything about him is good. This is a new zone for me as I have mostly done roles with grey shades," the actor said.

Talking romancing Balan, with whom he has previously worked in "The Dirty Picture" and "Ghanchakkar", Emraan said the two have been wanting to star together in a romantic film since their first outing.

"After 'Dirty Picture', we hoped for an out-an-out romantic movie but it did not happen the second time. There were glimpses of romance between us in our first film but this is love in all its glory," he said.

Emraan's last few releases "Ghanchakkar", "Raja Natwarlal", "Ungli" and the recent "Mr X", have not tasted the kind of box-office success his earlier films enjoyed. However, the actor said the fate of those films have no bearing on his upcoming movie as he is confident "Hamari Adhuri Kahani" will strike the right chord with the audience.

"Flop films are not setbacks, they are learning lesson and a teaching. Every film is important in its own way. We all work diligently. This film is already successful for me because we have put our heart and soul into it. I know we have made a fantastic film and hope the audience picks it up and appreciates the hard work," he said.