Mumbai, July 31 - 'Am I a criminal or a terrorist?' asked an upset Emraan Hashmi Friday. The Bollywood actor alleged he had been denied a house he wanted to buy in the upmarket Pali Hill area of Mumbai because he was Muslim.

The actor, who was not given a no objection certificate (NOC), believes the housing society in Pali Hill was hiding the real reason for its refusal.

'This has political connotations, so they don't want to talk about it openly. Yesterday (Thursday), they told me that I can't get the NOC. I asked them why aren't you giving me the certificate -- am I a criminal, or a terrorist or have I done anything illegal?' Emraan told reporters here with his uncle and well-known filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt by his side.

'It is strange that they don't tell you on your face that you can't get a house because you are a Muslim. It would have been easier if they would have told me openly. What they told me is that they can't allow me to live there because I am a serial kisser and my presence will have a bad influence on the children staying there.

'Being a celebrity if I'm facing problems in buying a house here, I wonder what kind of problems others would have been facing. All the time we are talking about secularism but with such incidents what secularism are people talking about?' asked the actor.

Emraan said someone suggested to him that he purchase the house in the name of his wife Parveen, who is a Hindu. 'I can do that, but why should I do that?' he asked.

Bhatt said such discrimination was a serious problem plaguing the country.