Bollywood's notorious "serial kisser" (he even wore this slogan on his tee in one his films) hasn't yet quit his trademark scenes. But he has also moved on to something equally exciting and topical.
Veteran of a thousand liplocks with a bevy of beauties onscreen, in his latest film, Jannat, Emraan Hashmi goes into another tangle: that of cricket and betting and bookies.
He, however, remains as unfazed by any image people may have of him as by whichever heroine braces up before him for the liplock. "I don't know why it gathers so much news when I kiss," he said. "It's not even at the back of my mind."
The last 12 months or more may have been uneventful for Hashmi, never mind the buzz he creates with his kisses. We are one quarter gone in 2008, too, but the tiny packet of dynamite promises a good year yet. He not only has Jannat coming up at the theatres soon, Raaz 2 also features in his near-future plans.
The upcoming film, Jannat, plunges into the cricketing world of match fixing and betting, which makes it topical in the long seasons of cricket in India which nows includes Twenty20s and ICL andf IPL.
The seasons have also seen India come into its own in all versions and aspects of the game, including fighting sledging with sledging!
And then there is the enfant terrible of cricket, Shoaib Akhtar, suddenly flinging charges of match fixing to counter his ban of five years by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Jannat seems to have its game all sorted out.
