Kolkata, June 21 : Actor Emraan Hashmi who drew plaudits for his role in "Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai", says that the risks he took in his career have paid off.

"I always wanted to play versatile characters, it's just that I got slotted. I was only taking up films that were offered to me," Emraan said on the sidelines of a promotional event for the forthcoming film "Ghanchakkar" at the Park Hotel here Thursday.

"But when filmmakers start taking risks seeing the versatility... after seeing the turning point... the turning point in my career being 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai', people started thinking beyond the image... that I can do other films beyond the typical noir cinema of 2009... things really changed," said Emraan.

After a spate of films like "Murder" and "Gangster" that earned him the title of Bollywood's 'serial kisser', Hashmi received critical acclaim for portraying a variety of characters in movies like "Awarapan" (2007), "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai" (2010), "The Dirty Picture"
(2011) and "Shanghai" (2012).

Foraying into comedy with the forthcoming movie "Ghanchakkar", which releases June 28, Emraan was last seen in the unconventional flick "Ek Thi Daayan".

Calling it a "rebirth" in his career post-2009, the actor admitted that breaking through stereotypes in films like "The Dirty Picture" and "Ek Thi Daayan" have brought him success.

"There was almost a rebirth of kind in my career after 2009 and I got to do the work work I really wanted to do. In any decision, you have to be slightly cautious but but you have to take risks. Because in my career, risks have already paid off," he added. (IANS)