Emraan Hashmi reveals why playing a customs officer in ‘Taskaree’ intrigued him: 'I’d be a fool as an actor to let that go' - Exclusive

Following the unexpected but viral success of his cameo appearance in Aryan Khan’s 'The Ba***ds of Bollywood' to his critically acclaimed performances in recent times, Hashmi was recently seen as a customs officer in Neeraj Pandey’s international smuggling thriller, 'Taskaree.' In a candid conversation with us, Emraan Hashmi reflects on his massive career resurgence. The actor also discusses the overwhelming fan response to his two-day cameo in Netflix's 'The Ba***ds of Bollywood' and his shift toward complex roles.Speaking to Etimes exclusively, Emraan Hashmi opened up on how the past year has been hectic and if her has been purposely taking on more work. Hashmi replies, "Yeah, the thing is, it just so happens that I'm doing a lot of good work now. So I'd be a fool to let it go. So yeah, it's been very hectic. Sometimes you forget when you're choosy and you feel you're getting only one or two films that are good, you pick those up. Sometimes you get five or six films and you have to make all of them work. So it gets hectic. But in a good way. It's a good hectic. I wouldn't complain about it." Opening up his cameo appearance in Aryan Khan's 'The Ba***ds of Bollywood' as an intimacy coach, Hashmi said, "I myself don't know how it happened. It's just something that the fans can answer. It is their tribute to whatever happened and their acknowledgement and their love. I just played out a cameo, a two-day role. But it's again, apart from the fans, it's a big thank you to Aryan Khan, (writers) Bilal Siddiqui , Manav Chauhan, the entire team at Red Chillies, Netflix. They kind of got me in the show with a well-written cameo and it just blew up."Emraan Hashmi joined Neeraj Pandey’s 'Taskaree' to explore the intriguing, high-stakes world of airport customs officers and international smuggling syndicates. Explaining why he took on the role, Hashmi said, "What brought me to this was Neeraj Pandey, his vision of playing out a world of smuggling in international flights at our airports. The role of a customs officer is something I was always intrigued about, it's something I wanted to explore. Finally, when Neeraj Pandey said that this is the character, I grabbed it with both hands because it would be a fool as an actor to let that go."In 'Taskaree: The Smuggler's Web' which released January 14, 2026, Emraan Hashmi stars as Arjun Meena, a disciplined customs officer at Mumbai Airport. He leads an elite task force to dismantle a global smuggling syndicate run by crime boss Bada Choudhary, played by Sharad Kelkar, showcasing a gritty world of high-stakes corruption and internal betrayal.