In the ultimate reel-meets-real moment, Bollywood star Emraan Hashmi met Aamir, the Pakistani man he portrays in Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic’s new film Tigers. The movie, co-produced by two feisty Indian ladies – Prashita Chaudhary and Guneet Monga, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and it is there in Toronto, where Aamir now lives, that he met Emraan, who has gone there for the screenings.
It was Aamir who as a salesman for a multinational corporation blew the whistle on the baby food scandal in Pakistan. Danis’s Tigers tells the personal story of Aamir as he exposes the powerful multinationals in his hard-hitting film. Emraan, who plays the salesman, met Aamir for the first time in Toronto on the sidelines of the festival and it was an extremely emotional moment for both men.
Aamir had just seen the film at a private screening for him and his family and he couldn’t hold his tears. “I didn’t know what to expect when I sat to watch the film. But Danis and his team have made a very powerful film which showed things exactly how they happened. Emraan has done a brilliant job.”
Emraan’s work in Tigers has been lauded by The Hollywood Reporter in its review saying “In the main role, Hashmi is considerably glammed-down to average-looking. He plays convincingly on Ayan’s stubborn innocence coupled with terrible naïvete about the consequences of what he’s doing.” Says the Bollywood star: “We have had fabulous screenings and the reviews have been great but for me personally meeting Aamir was the biggest high. I am so glad he liked the film and my portrayal of him. He was the real tiger.”
