Emraan doesn't recall sour interaction with Javed

Indian actor denies being rude to Pakistani star

In an interview with The Indian Express, Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi addressed Javed Sheikh's claims of the former's dismissive attitude towards the veteran actor while the two were filming 2008 film Jannat.

"It's bizarre," Emraan said, adding that he does not remember the sour interaction due to how long it has been. He, however, also claimed that the two were on cordial terms throughout their time on set. "I was 20-something then, and he is not my age, so we were never friends. I didn't hang out with him, but I don't remember anything like what he is saying happened."

The Murder actor reckoned that this might have been a case of miscommunication. "I don't know what Javed sahab took back with him, but it is definitely something he has held on to for 16-17 years. As far as I'm concerned, it's a giant comedy of errors that has snowballed into something I know nothing about."

Recently, Javed - who has acted in a number of Bollywood films — looked back on his time working with Emraan on Jannat, during an appearance on a local channel's Ramazan transmission.

Javed recalled that the two first met in South Africa, where the film was being shot. "There was a big cricket stadium in Cape Town, where we had major work to do. So, the first set was in that very stadium. As everyone started coming in, the director introduced me to Emraan, who was just walking by," he said.

The veteran actor added that when he extended a hand to the Indian actor, the latter grimaced and walked away from him. "It made me very angry. I kept thinking, 'Who does he think he is?' Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan – all of them refer to me as 'Javed ji' and I've spent much less time with this guy yet he decides to do this?"

Javed, however, decided to ignore the behaviour then. "At some point, the director asked if we should rehearse the scene once. So, I agreed. Then he said, 'Please come, sir. Emraan Hashmi is sitting over there.'"

The suggestion confused the Pakistani actor, but he stood his ground. "I said, 'Why should I go there? Tell him to come here,'" Javed recalled.

The Iqtidar actor added that after a tense period, Emraan gave in and arrived himself. "I didn't even look at him. We just went on with the rehearsal and the shoots. For the next several days, I didn't even talk to him," Sheikh said. "My point of saying all this is that when you want to take revenge, do it in a soft way."