‘Your perceptions change once you go behind the camera’
AI love storytelling. I felt the stories happening around me are not being told on screen. HIMANSHU MALIK, Actor-director
ctor-turned-director Himanshu Malik says that he absolutely enjoyed his acting and modelling phase, but he gradually realised that it was never his calling. Instead, directing films was what he was really made for.
“Once you go behind the camera your concepts and perceptions change totally. And, for me it happened gradually and organically. The fun (as a director) is that you can enjoy eating everything without worrying about gaining weight or going to the gym (laughs),” says Malik.
The 48-year-old further adds, “For me, acting was about on-the-journey experiences. I started at 21 and tasted success very early. I have been part of cult songs (singer Sonu Nigam’s Deewana and late singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Afreen), done films like Tum Bin (2001) and LOC Kargil (2003), including playing lead role in Khwahish (2003). But, later I realised that it was just a phase for me and my real wish was to take up direction.”
Malik credits his acting assignments as his training ground ahead of direction. “My initial work experience helped me to learn the craft better. It was joy to be a part of some wonderful projects, but then we all want to grow and move ahead. The fact is that I never had the vanity and obsession to be a huge star and that I guess is an in-built quality. I got bored of it and evolved with time and discovered the bliss of filmmaking. I love the process of writing and storytelling, and the medium for it is films. I personally felt the stories that are happening around me and are prevalent in society are not being told on screen.”
In 2012, he wrote and directed short film Q.E.D. that did well at film fests. He then directed some music videos and ads. Malik shot for his first feature film Chitrakut 2018-19. It went to film festivals and also won awards.
“It’s a relationship drama about companionship and love. We shot it in Goa, Mumbai and Pune,” the filmmaker tells us about the film which is slated for a theatrical release soon.