Emraan Hashmi

Syed Emraan Anwar Hashmi (born 24 March 1979 in Mumbai) is an Indian Bollywood actor known for two decades of work across romantic thrillers, crime dramas, horror, and biographical films. Widely regarded as one of Bollywood's most unconventional and commercially consistent leading men, he has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list and received four Filmfare Award nominations.

Family and Early Life

Hashmi was born into a family with deep roots in Indian cinema. His father Anwar Hashmi is a businessman who appeared in a 1968 film. His paternal grandmother, Meherbhano Mohammad Ali (screen name Purnima), was a noted actress who later married producer-director Bhagwan Das Varma. Through his grandmother's family connection, Hashmi is related to the Bhatt family — filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and producer Mukesh Bhatt are his maternal uncles (through their mother Shirin Mohammad Ali, who was Meherbhano's sister). His second cousin is director Mohit Suri, with whom he has collaborated frequently, and he is distantly related to actress Alia Bhatt.

He attended Maneckji Cooper Education Trust School before studying at Sydenham College, earning a bachelor's degree from the University of Mumbai.

Career: Early Years (2003–2007)

Hashmi made his debut in Vikram Bhatt's thriller Footpath (2003). His breakthrough came with Anurag Basu's erotic thriller Murder (2004), which became one of the year's top-grossing films and established him as a bold, unconventional presence in Hindi cinema. He followed this with Zeher (2005), Aashiq Banaya Aapne (2005), Gangster: A Love Story (2006) — for which he received a Filmfare nomination for Best Performance in a Negative Role — and the neo-noir drama Awarapan (2007), which gained cult status particularly in Pakistan.

Commercial Success (2008–2012)

The crime drama Jannat (2008) marked a turning point, followed by Raaz: The Mystery Continues (2009). His most acclaimed work came with Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010), for which he received his first Filmfare Best Supporting Actor nomination, and Murder 2 (2011). His appearance in The Dirty Picture (2011) alongside Vidya Balan, and in the political thriller Shanghai (2012) — which critics called one of his finest performances — earned him a second Filmfare Best Supporting Actor nomination.

Personal Life and Son's Cancer Battle

Hashmi married Parveen Shahani in December 2006. Their son Ayaan was born on 3 February 2010. On 15 January 2014, Ayaan was diagnosed with first-stage Wilms' tumor (kidney cancer) at age four. Hashmi went public with his son's illness and documented the journey in his book "The Kiss of Life: How a Superhero and My Son Defeated Cancer" (2016). In January 2019, Ayaan was declared cancer free — a journey that profoundly deepened Hashmi's faith and reshaped his public identity. His mother Maherah Hashmi died of cancer on 11 March 2016.

Career Resurgence

After a period of commercial setbacks, Hashmi had a major career resurgence with Tiger 3 (2023), starring alongside Salman Khan as rogue Pakistani ISI agent Aatish Rehman. The film grossed ₹466 crore worldwide and earned him his third Filmfare Best Supporting Actor nomination. He has continued working across films and OTT series, including the Netflix spy thriller Bard of Blood and Showtime (2024).