The suave anti-hero: Deconstructing the subversive stardom of Emraan Hashmi in globalized times

Abstract

Conventionally, male protagonists of Bollywood have validated the significance of Indian morality through its embodiment or a climactic return after an initial digression. In the twenty-first century, the sensibilities of the globalized youth graduated to an acceptance of a flawed or fallen hero. One of the earliest desecrations of Indian morality was the visibility of on-screen kissing in some movies which was also the highlight of the movie. Rising high on the tide of this change was Emraan Hashmi who earned the sobriquet of “serial kisser”. Prior to this era, kissing was unfavourable for the movie business as it not only faced the ire of the censorship board, but, such movies were also shunned by the masses. This was on account of the fact that movies were generally viewed with families. Moreover, Hashmi secured his “bad boy” image by portraying dark roles which ranged from slightly devious to utterly immoral. His popularity among the youth was sealed with an array of chartbusters which earned him another moniker “the #1 Hit Machine”. The study would, then, analyse the strategies involved in his projection as an anti-hero and its success amidst the context of the substantial changes in the society, which led to his incorporation in mainstream Bollywood movies. It adapts Dyer’s concept of “The Rebel” onto the trope of globalized Bollywood audiences. According to this, it is this image which garners much fanfare but, in turn, also restricts their on-screen character acceptability in terms of portrayal of other roles. The paper argues that it is his image, which has prevented a successful transition to the more universal positive “hero” image. When posited on the wider map of the ideological and cultural contestations of classes versus masses, this subversive image renders him inappropriate towards his inclusion among the premier Bollywood heroes. The paper will employ an in-depth analysis of discourses around his media coverage, choice of films, audiences’ expectations which will accentuate the salient characteristics of his brand of subversive stardom.