Recently, the horror film Adbhut, written and directed by Sabbir Khan, known for Heropanti and Munna Michael, premiered on television. The film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Diana Penty, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Rohan Mehra, and Himanshi Parashar. We’ve seen Himanshi Parashar in the popular show Teri Meri Doriyaann. She played an important role in the film, appearing in the climax. Since Adbhut was released, she has been receiving positive feedback for her performance.
Sharing more about Adbhut and her role, she says, “I recently worked on a movie called Adbhut, directed by Sabbir Khan Sir under his production. I played a character named Amy R Matthews, who appears in the climax of the movie. It’s a really interesting character, and when I found out they were casting for this role, I was very eager to be a part of it. They were looking for actors who were semi-known. At that time, in August 2022, when we shot the film, I wasn’t a known face yet. It was a one-day shoot for me, but it was an intense day. The entire scene was very emotional, as it involves my character watching herself die on a hospital bed. The scene carries a lot of weight and really adds to the suspense and drama of the movie, especially in the climax.”
“I’m extremely grateful and happy that I got this opportunity, all thanks to Sabbir Khan Sir, who saw my audition tape and personally called me to narrate the part. The whole team, including amazing cinematographers like Binod Pradhan Sir—who has worked on many great movies like Rang De Basanti—made me feel lucky to be a part of such a talented cast and crew.
Himanshi adds, “It was April 2022, I was in Mumbai, and I was contacted for the audition for Amy’s character. They were looking for a girl who could look innocent and also perform well. I was called for the audition, and I gave my best. It was an emotional audition where I had to cry, and I noticed that even the girl taking my audition started crying. So, I had high hopes. However, I didn’t hear back from them for the next two or three months. Then, in July 2022, they contacted me again and told me they were ready to shoot, asking if I was available for the part. We shot the scene for one full day in August 2022. It was a really emotional scene where I had to cry the entire day, but I enjoyed it because the team was so supportive and talented. The experience was really special, and I believe it was all destined to happen.”
Himanshi credits much of her success to director Sabbir Khan. “Sabbir Khan Sir nicknamed me HP. He would say, ‘HP, the stage is yours. Do whatever you want. This is the scene, this is the character’s backstory, and this is what you’re supposed to do.’ He gave me complete freedom, saying, ‘If you want to cry, scream, or express yourself in any way, just go for it.’ He really let me take control of the scene. The DOP, the assistants, the makeup artist—everyone was very professional and kind, and I truly enjoyed working with them. Shreya and Rohan were also very nice and sweet to me. Shreya even joked, ‘You’ve been crying since morning, are you okay?’ I said, ‘This is nothing, I’ve done a Punjabi TV show before, and there we…’ She instantly said, ‘Say no more,’ and we started laughing. It was funny; I understood the humor in it. Though it was hard work—using glycerin and crying the whole day wasn’t easy—by the end of the day, I was really low on energy. But I felt very satisfied because we had done a good job, and I was proud of the work we accomplished.”
For any film, the climax is crucial because that’s when the audience finally understands what the entire movie has been building up to. It’s one of those moments that really grabs your attention and keeps you glued to the screen. Himanshi shares that the climax turned out to be very interesting and unexpected, which people are really enjoying.
Himanshi feels the entire experience of filming Adbhut has been a great learning process for her. She adds, “I shot for this movie before my television show Teri Meri Dooriyan happened. When I saw myself on screen, I realized how much I’ve grown as an actor. If I were to shoot the same scene today, I would approach it differently. That’s part of our job—constantly growing and learning. It’s interesting to see how much I’ve changed as an actor compared to when I first worked on this film. But I must admit, seeing people appreciate and enjoy the climax is a great reward for me.”
