Why the 'why' in 'Why Cheat India' bothers Emraan Hashmi so much
The film deals with the shortcomings and malpractices in our education system.
Emraan Hashmi must be hoping that Lady Luck will smile at him. The actor’s track record shows that he has delivered several box office successes. The last few years, however, haven’t been kind to him.
An A-lister of relatively small films, Hashmi's typical solo hit has done less business than its big-budget counterpart. Interestingly though, his last major hit was Milan Luthria’s vapid actioner, Baadshaho (2017), an expensive Ajay Devgn film in which he had a supporting role.
The actor's upcoming film is Soumik Sen's Why Cheat India, whose title was changed from 'Cheat India' following an order of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
The film deals with the shortcomings and malpractices in our education system. It is a subject, as the actor has reportedly said, everybody, right from parents to children and even the ‘cheating mafia’, can relate to.
Significant success has eluded Hashmi in recent times, which makes Why Cheat India a crucial release for him.
Most of his recent films have been zero-impact releases, which hasn’t surprised many since they simply haven’t had what it takes to attract viewers to the theatres.
Among these are Vikram Bhatt’s Raaz Reboot (2016), a farrago of horror, romance, the supernatural — and a few other things.
He played Azhar Mohammed, a character reportedly based on former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin, in Tony D’Souza’s eponymous sports drama Azhar (2016). The film impressed nobody, except those who wanted to see the protagonist being cleared of charges of alleged match-fixing.
Mohit Suri’s Hamari Adhuri Kahani (2015) was a contrived and hollow love triangle that Hashmi and his talented co-stars Vidya Balan and Rajkummar Rao could not rescue with their decent performances. Like Azhar, this film too wasn’t a commercial disaster. Whatever it earned was because of luck — or chance.
Only heaven knows why he chose to act in Vikram Bhatt’s vigilante drama Mr X (2015). Neither was he impressive in the avatar of an invisible man, nor did the film become an accidental box office success.
Rensil D’Souza’s Ungli (2014), another vigilante film about a gang of do-gooders, was yet another bad choice. Playing a roguish cop in the multi-starrer, Hashmi could achieve nothing.
Kunal Deshmukh’s Raja Natwarlal (2014), which starred him in the title role of a conman, was occasionally engaging. But those occasions were few and far between, which did not please viewers.
Disappointments have stalked the actor for quite some time. One of them was Tigers, a film starring him in the central role and directed by the Bosnian Oscar-winning filmmaker Danis Tanovic, which had to settle for an online release.
The actor has had the rare big hit like Baadshaho but the film’s success cannot be solely attributed to him. He has had a role to play in modest successes like Azhar and Hamari Adhuri Kahani, but then, he has also had several setbacks during the same period.
Having debuted in 2003 with Footpath, Hashmi had experienced success very soon.
Once branded a 'serial kisser' because of the inevitable kissing sequences in his films, he had his first big hit with the erotic thriller Murder (2004). The film turned Mallika Sherawat into a national sex symbol, and Hashmi too enjoyed his moment under the spotlight.
Other commercial successes came his way as his career progressed, among them Gangster (2006), Jannat (2008), Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai (2010), The Dirty Picture (2011), Jannat 2 (2012) and Raaz 3D (2012).
Besides, Murder’s stupendous success led to two more films in the franchise. Murder 2 (2011), which featured him, was a blockbuster. Murder 3 (2013), which did not, was a modest performer.
Hashmi knows that Why Cheat India is propelled by a subject that has universal appeal and relevance, which partly explains his annoyance after the addition of 'why' to the title.
Talking to the media after the CBFC’s order, the perturbed actor said, “We are a little upset that they have told us to do that (change in title) just seven days before the release of the film. They approved the title when we released (the) promo of the film and now, while giving a censor certificate to the film, they had an issue with the title of the film.”
That’s strange but not surprising since the CBFC has often been whimsical and arbitrary. It is a disruptive alteration if one considers that the official trailer and television promos had been carrying the old title for a while.
Why the ‘why’ was added is a question some viewers might ask.
But they will keep that thought aside and watch the film if it fulfils its promise.
Hashmi must be hoping that Why Cheat India will elicit a favourable response from the viewers.
As for us, all we want is a good Friday.