https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/television/himanshi-khurana-salman-khan-asim-riaz-shefali-jariwala-6206338/
Himanshi Khurana might have entered Bigg Boss 13 as Shehnaaz Gill’s arch nemesis, but her bond with Asim Riaz went on to become the highlight of her journey. The actor-singer got eliminated a month back, but fans are still missing her presence in the reality show.
In an exclusive chat with indianexpress.com, Khurana spoke about how watching the show as an audience member has changed her perspective towards a few contestants. She also cleared the air around the controversial remark about host Salman Khan.
Here are excerpts from the conversation.
How has life changed after Bigg Boss 13?
I got evicted all of a sudden, and didn’t know what was happening outside. While I was amazed at the kind of love that was being showered on my friendship with Asim and Shefali, it was shocking to see my closeness with Asim being taken so negatively by a section. He is a very dear friend, and it’s beyond the show. This is why when I saw that every other celeb had a strong PR machinery, I decided to go all out and support him.
While fans are missing the ‘AsiManshi’ bond on the show, even contestants keep mentioning you. How does that feel?
I am so happy that even after a month, people still talk about it. And the best part is that they say all good things. That means my vibe and personality did leave an impact. Also, recently Shehnaaz mentioned that if she has to be jealous of someone, it would be someone like Himanshi and not Paras Chhabra or Mahira Sharma, that felt really good.
Now that you are watching the show as an audience member, have your opinions about contestants changed?
Absolutely, especially when it comes to Shehnaaz. I had entered the show as her rival. I know there are people who say I did not fight with her, but that’s because I didn’t want things to become uncomfortable for both of us. However, because of what had happened between us in the past, I really found her irritating. But now when I watch the show, I realise that she is bubbly and doesn’t have a stable thought process. She will insult someone or get insulted and then be normal with them in minutes. Now that I have started to know her, grudges are also slowly siding away.
And what about seeing your good friends Asim Riaz-Shefali Jariwala being at loggerheads?
Asim was at fault when he called Shefali a rat. In our initial days, when we had become close, Asim had told me not to trust Shefali as Sidharth Shukla had told him that she is a rat, and very clever. That’s where the word came from. Since both were equally important to me, I told him not to judge Shefali through Shukla’s perspective. Arhaan told me that Asim was upset with Shefali as he felt that I got evicted because of her, and so during the fight, those words came out. This is a misunderstanding, which only I can clear, and that would only happen once the show ends.
This season has also been in the news for not calling out violence…
(Cutting in)…see, we can’t be comparing it with previous seasons, and then find faults. The show was announced as a ‘tedha season’, so you can expect the unexpected. And maybe this is why it has also become the most successful season. There’s still a month left, and I don’t know what else will we see in the name of content next.
Salman Khan recently pulled up Asim for being irritating. What’s your take on the same?
His parents and fans who are watching the show might be feeling bad, but I understand how these things work. When you are showing Sidharth Shukla abusing and then not reprimanding him, you are leaving it to the audience to judge. And when you are scolding Asim, you are indirectly enhancing his personality as people are getting connected to him. Shuklaji is getting over confident, and while people say the channel is protecting his image, it’s only getting worse by this. On the other hand, Asim is getting the emotional support. I feel the more Salman scolds Asim, the stronger his game will become. All I pray is that it doesn’t drown his morale.
Coming to Salman, a video recently went viral where you mentioned how he cleaned the Bigg Boss house for money. What do you have to say about that?
Well, I was doing a video interview with a senior journalist, who I have known for long. As I was doing my nails then, I mentioned how washing utensils in the BB house have made it worse. That’s when he asked what was the drama of Salman cleaning the house and washing utensils. I told him he has taken money for his job and has to do it. The complete conversation also had me saying that journalists like you carried the articles of him charging such a hefty amount to host the show. But the edited video was pushed to put me down. I am no one to say that Salman Khan is biased as he has no personal equation with any of the contestants. He is basically doing his job as the host, for which he does demand fees. I don’t think I said anything wrong.
Twitter has become a battleground for fan clubs. How do you deal with all the trolls?
Since, Bigg Boss is a national show, people will talk good, bad and ugly about everything. When you know you are right, I don’t think anything else matters. So be it me or Umar (Asim’s brother), we are all very chilled out.
Do you feel Asim will manage to get home the trophy?
I don’t know. The way the show is going right now, I have my doubts. But if it’s purely on the basis of personality and the growth of that person, then Asim deserves it. And in case he cannot, I hope Shehnaaz wins the show. She is really playing an entertaining game.
Lastly, we came to know that you had recently sent messages to Asim through celebrity guests who were entering the show. What did it say?
Asim had fractured his thumb, and it has been a long and painful experience for him. After he had fought with Paras, he had slammed the door. I wanted to tell him that he shouldn’t do anything that physically harms him. There were other things too, which I cannot share (laughs). However, sadly, he did not get any of those messages.
Bhabhi Ji Ghar Pe Hain?
