Emraan Hashmi slams way of judging students solely by their marks

Emraan Hashmi has had a lean run for almost five years now. But the actor is gung-ho about his next venture, Cheat India, which speaks of the corruption in India's education system.

Hashmi, who is co-producing the film with T-Series and Ellipsis Entertainment, felt that a subject like this would not have been encouraged earlier.

"A decade ago, films like Cheat India would have been dismissed by the industry as being ahead of their time, but today with the changing language of cinema and the changing audience, I can experiment,” Hashmi said.

The film deals with corruption in the education system, but Hashmi blamed the malaise on the attitude of people who seek short-cuts to success.

He also did not agree with the system of judging students on the basis of their report cards.

"We read so much daily about the scams that plague our education system: SSC and HSC paper leaks, CBSE re-examination, Vyapam [recruitment examination scam in Madhya Pradesh], etc," Hashmi said. "The whole concept of buying your way through education, jobs and earnings is disturbing."

The actor said people need to understand the vulnerability of hardworking and gifted students who get left behind by those who cheat the system.

"Though our education system has evolved over the decades, the malpractices still exist," he said. "The fact that we judge students on the basis of their report cards has resulted in thievery in our education system.”

Mugging up textbooks is common practice among Indian schoolchildren, Hashmi pointed out. That is why he made sure his son, Ayaan, was enrolled in a system with a different curriculum where there is no encouragement for rote learning; instead there is focus on the development of social skills, discipline and responsibility.

Shooting for Cheat India is currently on in Uttar Pradesh. Hashmi is paired with Telugu film actress Shreya Dhanwanthary, who is making her Hindi cinema debut.

Directed by Soumik Sen, Cheat India is set to be released on 25 January 2019. As of now, the film is due to compete with Hrithik Roshan’s Super 30 and Kangana Ranaut’s Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi.