EXCLUSIVE: Emraan Hashmi shares thoughts on paid reviews: “It’s a credibility crisis for our industry” : Bollywood News

Emraan Hashmi, known for his candid takes, recently tackled a burning question in Bollywood: the credibility of film reviews. During a fan meet and greet with Bollywood Hungama for his upcoming web show, Showtime, he addressed concerns about paid reviews and their impact on the industry.

EXCLUSIVE: Emraan Hashmi shares thoughts on paid reviews: “It’s a credibility crisis for our industry”

When directly asked if he'd ever encountered paid reviews, Emraan's answer was unequivocal: "No." However, he acknowledged the larger problem within the industry, stating, "It's definitely become a credibility issue in recent years."

Emraan pointed towards the challenges faced by the film industry post-pandemic: "Since Covid, films haven't regained their pre-pandemic box office performance. And I'm not just talking about big films. The true sign of recovery will be smaller and medium-budget films performing well again, which isn't happening." He attributed this to "desperation," leading some to participate in "number games" and manipulate reviews.

He further highlighted the evolving media landscape: "Back in 2003-2014, there were only a few select critic reviews we eagerly awaited every morning. Those stars held meaning." He implied that the rise of social media and the sheer volume of reviews created a different, potentially less reliable, environment.

Speaking of his professional front, the 44-year-old actor was last seen in Tiger 3, where he played the antagonist. Currently, as mentioned above, he is busy promoting his upcoming show, Showtime. The web series will start streaming from March 8 on Disney+ Hotstar. It also stars Rajeev Khandelwal, Shriya Saran, and the legendary Naseeruddin Shah.

Meanwhile, he also has a bunch of projects in the South. He will be next seen in Pawan Kalyan's OG and Adivi Sesh’s Goodachari 2. Besides this, he will also be seen playing a cameo in Sara Ali Khan’s upcoming film, Ae Watan Mere Watan, scheduled to release on Amazon Prime Video on March 21.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Emraan Hashmi says, “It’s not an internal voice… It’s my wife”; Showtime actor speaks on kissing scenes and his evolution