It's often concluded that in an Emraan Hashmi movie, at least one kiss will be an essential part of the storyline, and his sizzling intimacy with his co-star would be conveyed in the publicity posters.
However, his next film, The Dirty Picture might just change the actor's well-orchestrated image in the industry. The 'serial kisser' won't be seen locking lips with his heroine in the film's publicity campaign.
One may call it a case of the leopard keen to change his spots, for since his first hit, Murder, Emraan has been synonymous with kissing his heroines on screen.
But it seems the actor didn't want the promotional campaign of the film to look cliched, and naturally it has led to raised-eyebrows.
A source reveals, "Emraan felt that the kiss or any intimacy between him and Vidya's character would give the idea of The Dirty Picture being a typical Emraan Hashmi film.
And most importantly, the character he plays is consumed with hatred for Vidya's character. As the story progresses, the hatred gradually transforms into love.
That's why Emraan pointed out that the lip-lock in the poster would seem out of context."
Needless to say, producer Ekta Kapoor and director Milan Luthria understood the actor's reasoning.
"Eventually, they worked out more suitable publicity posters, " said our source, quickly adding, "It seems the filmmakers want to keep the sizzling chemistry Emraan and Vidya share for the big screen only."
When contacted, Emraan attributed the decision to his character graph in the biopic on Silk Smitha. "The graph of my relationship with Vidya's character is very different from that of the other men in the film.
So I felt that this aspect should come across. I suggested it to Milan and Balaji and they took it on board, " he sums up.