People's curiosity makes erotic thrillers sell: Sharman Joshi

After portraying the naive Raju in "3 Idiots" and a doting Parsi father in "Ferrari Ki Sawaari", actor Sharman Joshi will next be seen essaying a business tycoon in erotic thriller "Hate Story 3". He says it's people's "curiosity" surrounding sex that make films of this genre "sell".

"Erotic thrillers all over the world sell. That's a genre which is very well known and accepted because of the appeal that it has to the sexual urges of people," Sharman told IANS here.

He said that while particular genres have a "certain kind of appeal", but not all thrillers have eroticism. However, "Hate Story 3" is surely an erotic thriller, and he likes to believe that there is a "sense of curiosity" about it.

The past few years have seen a surge in erotic thrillers in Bollywood. "Jism", "Murder", "Hate Story" and "Zid" are a case in point.

Sharman said: "Those days are gone where we did not have access to any kind of material which was adult...and now there are many platforms via which you acquire that... but still when a feature film comes in this genre, it has its own appeal because of the kind of actors who are involved in it."

In Vishal Pandya-directed "Hate Story 3", Sharman will be seen with Daisy Shah, Karan Singh Grover and Zarine Khan.

Having been a part of many multi-starrer films like "3 Idiots", "Gang of Ghosts" and "Life In A... Metro", the "Golmaal" actor says he does not want to do a solo film just for being a lead actor -- and that's because it's the script that attracts him more.

"What gets me excited is the script really, and then if it happens to be a multi-starrer film, then so be it. I will not do a solo film just for the kicks of being a lead actor and not being excited about the story... no point in being in that kind of a movie then," he said.

Talking about what will connect the audience with "Hate Story 3", which is set to release on December 4, Sharman said: "We make films with good faith and complete belief that they are going to reach out to the audience... and that we will be able to impress them. But despite all the efforts, sometimes we do not get it right and sometimes we do.

"I hope we get it right this time."

Sharman also understands the importance of the box office.

But in a frank comment, he said: "It's not in my hand to make Rs.500 crore...of course that's the hope, but there are certain genres that are limited to a certain appeal and there are certain genres that have a pan-India appeal, and some films are made for a niche audience.

"Each film has its own kind of audience, which is roughly marked out when you first write out the script. But having said that. each film has to be commercially successful as it's a commercial business and a lot of money is being pumped in."