Emraan Hashmi Calls ‘Adolescence’ Style Show in India a ‘Risky Challenge’

April 26, 2025: Actor Emraan Hashmi recently shared his thoughts on the critically acclaimed Netflix series Adolescence, calling its storytelling and concept “audacious” and noting the difficulty of replicating such a show in India. The drama, created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, follows a teenager accused of the murder of a classmate and has garnered widespread praise for its bold narrative and unique approach to filmmaking.

In an interview, Emraan highlighted how the series’ gripping subject matter—focused on the perils of growing up in the age of social media—played a big part in its success. However, what truly sets Adolescence apart is its audacious filmmaking style: the show’s four episodes are each shot in a single take without any cuts, requiring months of careful planning and rehearsal.

Emraan acknowledged the immense risk involved in creating a show like Adolescence, noting, “It’s such a risky project because it’s just four episodes where each one is shot in a single take.” He further commented on how such an approach would be difficult to pull off in India, where logistical challenges and budget constraints would likely make a project of this scale unfeasible. “If you put that across to a producer over here, I would say that nine out of ten of them would tell you, ‘Are you out of your mind?’ It would be a logistical nightmare. 13 minutes into a shot, someone may goof up, and we would have to do the entire thing again,” he explained.

According to Emraan, this unique filmmaking style demands a director who is audacious enough to take on such a monumental task. He believes that a director with the vision to create something so bold would have to lead the entire team with the utmost precision and risk-taking ability. “What would happen to the budget? We would need a director, who leads the team, to be audacious and mad enough to make a show that way,” Emraan added.

Adolescence stars Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters, and Faye Marsay. The series also introduces 15-year-old Owen Cooper in his role as Jamie Miller, the child at the center of the murder accusation.

On the heels of his praise for Adolescence, Emraan is also gearing up for the release of his latest film, Ground Zero, which hit theatres on April 25. The film, based on the real-life story of BSF officer Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey, chronicles a daring operation by the Border Security Force that led to the death of notorious terrorist Rana Tahir Nadeem, also known as Ghazi Baba, in 2003. Directed by Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar, the movie also stars Sai Tamhankar, Zoya Hussain, and Mukesh Tiwari.