Howzaat:Emraan hates cricket

There was a time when Emraan Hashmi used to get bored of cricket. So much so that he didn't even have any basic idea about the tournaments in progress or the players in the squad.

Not that the situation has changed dramatically for him even today but the fact is that at the least he has started warming up to the sport, courtesy his role of a bookie in Jannat.

"Frankly, cricket used to bore me. The only matches which I could probably catch for a while were the ones between India and Pakistan and that, too, when they were one day internationals. However, 20-20 is able to catch my attention to some extent," reveals Emraan Hashmi.

"For someone like me who has a short attention span, it is impossible to be sitting in front of a TV for 8 hours and watch 100 overs being bowled. I tend to become quite impatient.

However, with so much glamour and entertainment being a part of the game now, I am considering it all as a masala outing in the offering", quips an amused Hashmi.

Isn't it divine intervention that Jannat is releasing at a time when 20-20 is at its peak?

While all other recent releases are falling like nine pin, Jannat appears to be only film which should keep the box office busy, considering its contemporary theme of cricket and the world of betting and match fixing?

"Of course we never planned it that way when Jannat was being made", Emraan says with an honest tone, "But yes, when it is all working now for us, it couldn't have been better.

We are arriving solo as well which is an added advantage. With films and cricket merging, courtesy 20-20, it should benefit Jannat."

Coming back to 20-20, how does he see it changing the scene of Indian sports?

Hashmi shares his point of view here, "So many people, like me, have already joined the fray while I am sure people, who were diehard one day international followers, have also shown signs of tilting towards the shorter version.

With 20-20 cricket, 50 over match seems like a passé. I think it would be quite difficult for people now to go back to spending their entire day watching cricket." -Joginder Tuteja

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