Emraan Hashmi: Serial kisser to crowd puller

Shooting outdoors in an uncontrolled environment can be tricky. But actor Emraan Hashmi and the unit of Jannat 2 had a trick up their sleeve when they were filming in heavily populated areas of the capital such as Chandni Chowk.

Shooting outdoors in an uncontrolled environment can be tricky. But actor Emraan Hashmi and the unit of Jannat 2 had a trick up their sleeve when they were filming in heavily populated areas of the capital such as Chandni Chowk.

On the first day, Emraan posed with fans and signed autographs, keeping them happy. The crowd, however, very quickly managed to learn that ‘cut’ meant they could approach the star and ‘pack up’ was their cue to descend upon the start.

Managing the mob became a tough task and escorting the actor to his van, parked a kilometre away, was a nightmare for the security guards.

Ask Emraan about his crowd-controlling ploy and he says, “It was very difficult to navigate through the crowd. So from day two, we decided that after our work was done, I would leave and five minutes later they would announce pack up on the mike for the rest of the unit and no one from the crowd would be wiser.”

Has the size of the crowd increased post his recent successes, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai (2010) and The Dirty Picture (2011)?0 “Yes, the crowd has escalated. All actors love mobs and so do I. The more the people, the bigger the crowd, the better I feel, and the better it is for my ego,” says Emraan.