Emraan Hashmi’s return in Awarapan 2 has stirred talk for an unusual reason: fans noticed there is no kissing scene involving him in the sequel, and they did not keep that observation to themselves. One viewer wrote, “If feels illegal to watch Emraan Hashmi without a kiss scene.”
The reaction makes sense because Hashmi spent the early years of his career carrying the label of the serial kisser, a screen image that stuck long after his roles changed. Awarapan 2, the sequel to the 2007 film Awarapan, stars Hashmi with Disha Patani and Shabana Azmi and is directed by Nitin Kakkar, which is why the missing moment has become part of the conversation around the film’s current release period.
Hashmi has already addressed how stubborn that image remains. “What happens is that when you have such a strong image, especially in a very conservative society like India, they will still hold on to it,” he said, adding that even at a press conference “there was still a question about the kiss that pops up.” He summed it up bluntly: “But that's India.”
That is also the friction inside the response to Awarapan 2. Fans expected a familiar beat because they still connect Hashmi to the old label, yet the sequel does not give them one, turning absence into the story. In a different setting, viewers are drawn to the same mix of image and performance in a serial drama like Furious Tv Show premieres on Hulu with Emmy Rossum in serial killer drama, but here the online chatter is about what is missing rather than what is shown.
The larger point is that Hashmi has tried to move past the image by taking on different kinds of roles, and he has said he needs to “show your versatility” and be “daring with the stuff that you're doing.” Even so, the response to Awarapan 2 shows that the old tag still sells attention, and the film’s India net collection of ₹67.46 crore so far suggests that curiosity has translated into numbers as well. What remains unanswered is whether the sequel’s restraint was a deliberate choice to break with that past or simply the latest reminder that the past still follows him into every release.
