Emraan Hashmi talks about shooting 'Adolescence' in India

The British drama 'Adolescence' sparked buzz on social media for its emotional storytelling, unique theme, and one-shot technique. Bollywood stars like Karan Johar, Alia Bhatt, and Janhvi Kapoor praised the show. Anurag Kashyap also shared his thoughts, saying OTT India might have rejected such a script or shortened it to a 90-minute film. He criticized Indian studios for avoiding creative risks and not supporting original content.
With Bollywood facing a tough time—made worse by actors charging huge fees and high entourage costs—Emraan Hashmi told News18 Showsha that the Hindi film industry is truly lacking the courage to take risks. He agreed with Anurag saying, “Adolescence has worked mostly because of its subject matter – the pitfalls of growing up in these times and social media. But inherently, it’s such a risky project because it’s just four episodes where each one is shot in a single take."
Indian producers fear unique ideas

Talking about why Indian producers avoid risky projects, Emraan said, “If you put that across to a producer over here, I would say that nine out of ten of them would tell you, ‘Are you out of your mind?’ It would be a logistical nightmare. 13 minutes into a shot, someone may goof up and we would’ve to do the entire thing again. What would happen to the budget? We would need a director, who leads the team, to be audacious and mad enough to make a show that way."
Only bold and fresh ideas
The actor believes the main issue is the lack of directors and producers who support bold, unique visions. He said, that in today’s time, only those films or shows that are genuinely fresh and in their DNA are likely to work. He pointed out that most creators are playing it too safe, with many projects feeling like rehash versions of older ones, and very few are willing to take creative risks.
Hashmi praises 'Animal'
The actor also appreciated the makers of 'Animal' for trying something bold and different, even though the film faced a lot of criticism. He said the real problem is that now everyone wants to copy that style, which could create chaos. Instead of following trends, he feels filmmakers should focus on creating their own unique path, something directors and producers are not doing today.
Need for fresh stories
Talking about the scripts he’s been reading lately, Emraan Hashmi said many of them feel outdated or too similar to what he’s already done. I’m like, why can’t you see me or a film from a fresh perspective? I know that it’s easier said than done. I definitely do say no more than yes. We should at least put out something we believe in rather than something that’s run-of-the-mill. The probability of that working is more, the actor added."