thriller Murder with Mallika Sherawat and Ashmit Patel. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama said about his performance: "Emraan Hashmi is fantastic in a role that seems tailor made for him. Enacting the role of an obsessive lover with flourish, there's no denying that the narrative gets a major impetus thanks to Emraan's performance." Murder emerged as a financial success, with a domestic total of , becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of the year in India. Hashmi next starred in Anurag Basu's romance, Tumsa Nahin Dekha, opposite Dia Mirza. While shooting the film, Basu was diagnosed with blood cancer, so producer-director Mahesh Bhatt completed it. Although the film did not succeed at the box office, his portrayal of Daksh Mittal (a young millionaire who falls in love with a bargirl) was generally well received. A review of his performance in BBC Online noted that he was "becoming fabulous with every film." Hashmi then took a supporting role in Mohit Suri's thriller Kalyug, alongside Kunal Khemu, Smilie Suri, Amrita Singh, Ashutosh Rana and Deepal Shaw. Based on the sex industry, the film depicted the devastating effect that non-consensual pornographic films have on the subjects. Hashmi featured as Ali Bhai, a man who runs a sex shop. His performance garnered positive reviews from critics, with Taran Adarsh writing: "Emraan Hashmi makes a brief appearance and the actor is, like always, highly competent." Kalyug was a moderate success in India. Hashmi's first film in 2006 was Anant Mahadevan's thriller Aksar with Udita Goswani and Dino Morea. The film was a profitable production, but met with negative reviews from critics. He next appeared in Anurag Basu's romantic thriller Gangster, co-starring Kangana Ranaut and Shiney Ahuja. The film was a box-office success, grossing over in India. Hashmi received positive reviews for his portrayal of an undercover detective called Aakash; Rediff.com's Raja Sen wrote, "His character is an understated one, and Hashmi manages to keep it that way. There is no unnecessary bluster or melodrama, and he does a pretty believable job. There is something lazy about his acting, by which I mean he makes the job look easy." For the film, Hashmi received his first Filmfare nomination for Best Performance in a Negative Role. He then acted in the crime thriller The Killer (adapted from the 2004 film Collateral) and the romance Dil Diya Hai. Both these films failed critically and commercially. In 2007, Hashmi appeared in