Emraan Hashmi reveals why immigration checks always made him nervous: 'You feel like you’re carrying contraband'

Emraan Hashmi recently revisited a curious chapter from his early days of travelling overseas, revealing that he was often stopped and questioned at airport immigration counters. The actor hinted that his appearance at the time may have triggered repeated scrutiny. Hashmi shared the anecdote while attending the trailer launch of his upcoming web series ‘Taskaree: The Smuggler’s Web’ in Mumbai on Wednesday. Interestingly, he essays the role of a customs officer in the series, adding a layer of irony to his real-life experiences at airports. When asked if he had personally faced questioning by customs officials, Emraan admitted that while the officers were usually courteous, the nervousness around immigration checks never truly goes away.Explaining the anxiety, Emraan said the fear is more instinctive than rational. He compared it to the sudden unease one feels upon spotting a traffic cop despite following all the rules. According to him, even walking through the green channel can spark unnecessary panic. He remarked that it makes you feel as if you’re carrying “100 kilos of contraband” even when your suitcase only has clothes. Looking back at the early 2000s, Emraan recalled that he was frequently pulled aside at immigration during his solo trips abroad. He believes his earrings at the time, combined with travelling alone, may have led to profiling. “I used to get whisked away to the side quite a bit,” he said, adding that it was likely due to how he was perceived then. While he couldn’t pinpoint the exact stereotype, Emraan joked that he “fit the bill of somebody.”The actor noted that such incidents have significantly reduced over the years. Now, when he travels with his family, he no longer faces the same level of suspicion at airport checks. On the work front, Emraan Hashmi was last seen in Suparn Varma’s courtroom drama ‘Haq’, inspired by the life and legal battle of Shah Bano Begum. He will next be seen leading ‘Taskaree: The Smuggler’s Web’, a crime thriller set against the shadowy world of smuggling and customs enforcement. The series also features Sharad Kelkar, Zoya Afroz and Nandish Singh Sandhu. Created by Neeraj Pandey, the show is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on January 14.