Emraan Hashmi says he had a ‘fleeting thought’ about turning down Tiger 3: ‘It’s Salman Khan and Tiger, it’s his brand’

Emraan Hashmi recently became a part of the YRF Spy Universe with Salman Khan-starrer Tiger 3. In a recent interview, when asked about getting lost in the star-studded film which also features Katrina Kaif,Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan, Emraan said that he was never “insecure of not getting my place in the sun”. But, he did have a thought about turning down the film when he was initially offered the part.

Speaking to Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube channel, Emraan said, “There was never a time when I felt insecure of not getting my place in the sun. Aditya Chopra told me that we will reveal you at a time when it’s right.” The actor said that it was by design that the makers had not promoted his name throughout the making of the film as they wanted to maintain some secrecy around his character.

Emraan Hashmi recalled that when he initially heard about the offer, his first instinct was to say no as Tiger is Salman Khan’s franchise, but all his doubts were resolved when he heard the script. “When I was told that I am being considered for the antagonist in Tiger, there was a fleeting thought that [said] no. Because it’s Salman and it’s Tiger and it’s his brand. But that was only for a fraction of a second. When Maneesh narrated the script and told me about Aatish, I was like this guy is so interesting,” he shared.

Emraan said that the backstory of the character convinced him and added, “He’s not ruthless and evil for the sake of it.” The actor further said, “I knew when I heard the character arc that this is an interesting guy. Even though it’s Tiger’s story, Aatish’s motivations make a big impact.”

Speaking about working with Salman Khan, Emraan Hashmi said there was not a moment where they broke the ice as he had already met Salman a few times. “He is very chilled out guy. What you see is what you get with Salman. He’s not projecting something. If he likes you, he likes you. He’s generally very fond of me. I’m very fond of him,” he said and added that “there was no pressure with Salman, or with Katrina”.