After the success of his first music video, ‘Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon’ in 2017, Emraan Hashmi is back to music videos with a love ballad titled, ‘Lut Gaye’. The song has been receiving a lot of love from the actor’s fans since its release. In an exclusive interview with ETimes, Emraan opened up about being a music buff, his experience shooting for the video, and the songs that make it to his playlist. Excerpts…

What kind of response have you got for ‘Lut Gaye’?
‘Lut Gaye’ is a beautiful melody and I am grateful that the audience has given it love. I was a bit apprehensive to keep track of how it’s faring, but when people started speaking highly of it, I was glad it received so much love and appreciation.

What convinced you to be a part of the love ballad?
When Bhushan Kumar made me hear the song for the first time, the melody touched me. It is a song that I knew I wanted to hear on loop. The lyrics, the voice, the emotion behind the song, all convinced me to be a part of the video.

The music video has some scintillating visuals. How was your experience shooting for it?
Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao are focused directors and they know how they want their story to unfold. It was a very easy shoot.

How are Radhika and Vinay as directors?
Like I mentioned, they are very knowledgeable in what they expect out of a project. They have directed several beautiful music videos in the past and it was a great experience working with them in ‘Lut Gaye’.

Are you a director’s actor?
A director has a vision towards his project, be it a film or a song. I like to understand what they expect from me as an actor and then use my skill set to develop the character in the same way. It is always an amalgamation of what the director envisions and what an actor brings to the table.

How was Yukti Thareja as a co-star?
Yukti was fun to work with. She has definitely made her mark in the video. She was a little nervous initially, but she has performed beautifully on screen.

Earlier, you have been a part of ‘Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon’ which also had a beautiful storyline…
I am grateful that I have been a part of several beautiful songs in my career including ‘Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon’. Good music and a beautiful storyline are what I desire from any song that I am a part of. ‘Lut Gaye’ is also one of them. If I am a part of a song, be it in films or music videos, it will be if I enjoy the song myself, something I hear on repeat.

Are you a music buff?
I love listening to music. I love something that hooks me on the first go and stays in my playlist for a long time.

What kind of songs do you listen to?
These days I have been listening to a lot of retro songs from Phil Collins, Pink Floyd, Guns N Roses, Johnny Cash etc. Also, my all-time favourite kind is progressive trance for the gym and the car.

Three top songs on your playlist right now.
‘Psycho’ and ‘Hollywood bleeding’ by Post Malone, ‘Climax’ by Usher, and ‘Jet Black’ by Channel Tres.

As a listener, what do you look for in a song – lyrics, singer, or music?
The music gets me hooked, the singer’s voice makes me imagine, and the lyrics hit my heart.

What’s next?
I have a line-up of films that include ‘Mumbai Saga’, ‘Chehre’, ‘Harami’ and ‘Ezra’.