Posted:
Despite being consistent in their performances, Himmanshoo Ashok Malhotra and Amruta Khanvilkar say they weren't expecting to win Nach Baliye. But the couple, called 'Himruta' by their fans, was in for a pleasant surprise when they were declared the winners of the dance reality show on Sunday. After the win, Himruta confessed that even though they were not high on star power like Rashami Desai and Nandish Sandhu (the first runners-up) and Upen Patel and Karishma Tanna (the second runners-up), it was their bond that struck a chord with the viewers. In her acceptance speech, Amruta dedicated their win to Himmanshoo's late father and said that he was probably blessing the couple from heaven. Excerpts from the chat:
Amruta was in the hospital days before the finale
Amruta: I was in the hospital for two days before the finale. After all that, it feels like our hard work has borne fruit.
Himmanshoo: She had a severe stomach infection and has been on painkillers since. Our performances had been filmed in advance and that was what helped us. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to perform on Sunday. She was discharged from the hospital on the morning of the finale and God only knows how she managed to stand on the stage!
Everybody wanted us to win
Amruta: Everybody wanted us to win. The entire crew of the show wanted us to win it. Accha lagta hai jab junta aapko pehchaanti hain.
Himmanshoo: It's definitely been fantastic. We got a standing ovation for our very first performance and it was a surprise for other contestants who didn't know us well. Out of the 12 performances that we have done, we were the top scorers in seven of them, so that immediately speaks for us. Everyone - from Ranbir Kapoor to Varun Dhawan - has appreciated our work. The journey has been magical and the love challenges have brought us closer.
Maharashtra and Delhi have come together
Amruta: Main aapko ek baat bataoon. Log Maharashtra mein mujhe pehchaante thay (Amruta is one of the top actresses of the Marathi film industry). Dilli mein log Himmanshoo ko pehchaante thay. I think yeh jo 2 States ki jodi ka title humein mila tha, woh sahi mila tha. Yahaan ke log usko jaanne lage aur wahaan (Delhi) ke log mujhko jaanne lage. Kahin na kahin, woh jo tha Maharashtra aur Dilli ka milaap rang laaya. We got support from all of India. In Delhi, people knew me as Himmanshoo's wife and in Maharashtra, people knew him as my husband. This show helped people get to know each of us separately.
Himmanshoo: I think it's been a great platform. I got the chance to perform and showcase my talent, while people got to see the kind of a person I am. In a way, people now know who Himmanshoo is and who Amruta is, so it's great when you are recognised for your talent as well as your individual personality. I don't know about the margin by which we defeated the other couples, but our performance spoke for itself. We have been together for 11 years, so our bond and genuine nature touched people. People were able to relate to it and they were praying for us.
Amruta: I think Himmanshoo ki jo saadgi hai, woh kaam kar gayi hamaare liye. Uski jo sacchaai hai aur jo hamaari friendship hai, woh kaam kar gayi. We are two very different individuals. We have come together and people loved that. We were the underdogs when we started out on the show. People hardly knew us, but as we grew on the show, they began to notice us. Whatever votes we earned, it is because of this.
The tasks on the show weren't stressful
Amruta: Daily Punchnama wasn't stressful at all. We were not too bothered about winning or losing. We were having fun throughout. When we played Sana-Dipesh, Rithvik would say, 'Yeh toh family picnic hai.'
Himmanshoo: We were absolutely not aware of the tasks when we took up the show. The truth has to come out, so it will come out. People accept you with the truth. So far, it's perfect. We were absolutely okay with it - love challenges, polygraph test, etc. We are not the type who hide things and we were not fake on the show.
Himmanshoo has become a bigger star after this show
Amruta: Kahin na kahin hum donon mein yeh baatein bahut clear hai. Our industry (Marathi film industry) has a command here in Maharashtra and Himmanshoo would also accept that that before this show, in some places, I was a bit more successful than him (in the lie-detector test, Amruta had said that she felt she was more successful than her husband). But after Nach Baliye, Himmanshoo has become a star. It's okay and he accepts it. Today, Himmanshoo is a bigger star.
Himmanshoo: I have done TV shows before and my shows have done well, but they have not been ranked number one or number two. I always believe that success comes to you at some point of time. Kisi ko jaldi milti hai, kisi ko der se milti hai. I think it's come to me now.
Seeing other couples cheat was saddening
Himmanshoo: You feel sad when you see all that. People use unfair means to win a show, but I don't want to comment on anything like that. People have voted for us and have accepted us. We have gone through a polygraph test and everybody has seen us. That is what's more important.
Amruta: Aapka kaam bolta hai. You have to keep working. Jin logon ne cheating ki ya nahi ki, that's for everyone to see. Mrunal (one of the contestants on the show) ne jab boli thi jo baatein usse nahi kehni chahiye thi, tab Himmanshoo didn't say anything, but I said what I wanted to. He stood beside me. Kisi bhi reality show mein aisi baatein hoti hain. We haven't been those people who won't say 'hi' or 'hello' to people whom we have had a tiff with. I even apologised to Upen during one of the episodes. Everybody has a personal opinion and we our mantra is 'raat gayi, baat gayi, yaar'. We have spoken out against anything wrong. But that is all done and forgotten. We are all friends.
Haven't decided what we'll do with the prize money
Himmanshoo: At this point, we just want to party. I just hope Amruta doesn't take all the money and throw me out of the house! Next week, I'll be coming to Delhi and we will soon decide what things will be kept in Delhi and Mumbai.
Amruta: I am open to doing TV. I think my personality's suited to anchoring. If anything good comes up on TV, I'll be open to it.
Amruta was in the hospital days before the finale
Amruta: I was in the hospital for two days before the finale. After all that, it feels like our hard work has borne fruit.
Himmanshoo: She had a severe stomach infection and has been on painkillers since. Our performances had been filmed in advance and that was what helped us. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to perform on Sunday. She was discharged from the hospital on the morning of the finale and God only knows how she managed to stand on the stage!
Everybody wanted us to win
Amruta: Everybody wanted us to win. The entire crew of the show wanted us to win it. Accha lagta hai jab junta aapko pehchaanti hain.
Himmanshoo: It's definitely been fantastic. We got a standing ovation for our very first performance and it was a surprise for other contestants who didn't know us well. Out of the 12 performances that we have done, we were the top scorers in seven of them, so that immediately speaks for us. Everyone - from Ranbir Kapoor to Varun Dhawan - has appreciated our work. The journey has been magical and the love challenges have brought us closer.
Maharashtra and Delhi have come together
Amruta: Main aapko ek baat bataoon. Log Maharashtra mein mujhe pehchaante thay (Amruta is one of the top actresses of the Marathi film industry). Dilli mein log Himmanshoo ko pehchaante thay. I think yeh jo 2 States ki jodi ka title humein mila tha, woh sahi mila tha. Yahaan ke log usko jaanne lage aur wahaan (Delhi) ke log mujhko jaanne lage. Kahin na kahin, woh jo tha Maharashtra aur Dilli ka milaap rang laaya. We got support from all of India. In Delhi, people knew me as Himmanshoo's wife and in Maharashtra, people knew him as my husband. This show helped people get to know each of us separately.
Himmanshoo: I think it's been a great platform. I got the chance to perform and showcase my talent, while people got to see the kind of a person I am. In a way, people now know who Himmanshoo is and who Amruta is, so it's great when you are recognised for your talent as well as your individual personality. I don't know about the margin by which we defeated the other couples, but our performance spoke for itself. We have been together for 11 years, so our bond and genuine nature touched people. People were able to relate to it and they were praying for us.
Amruta: I think Himmanshoo ki jo saadgi hai, woh kaam kar gayi hamaare liye. Uski jo sacchaai hai aur jo hamaari friendship hai, woh kaam kar gayi. We are two very different individuals. We have come together and people loved that. We were the underdogs when we started out on the show. People hardly knew us, but as we grew on the show, they began to notice us. Whatever votes we earned, it is because of this.
The tasks on the show weren't stressful
Amruta: Daily Punchnama wasn't stressful at all. We were not too bothered about winning or losing. We were having fun throughout. When we played Sana-Dipesh, Rithvik would say, 'Yeh toh family picnic hai.'
Himmanshoo: We were absolutely not aware of the tasks when we took up the show. The truth has to come out, so it will come out. People accept you with the truth. So far, it's perfect. We were absolutely okay with it - love challenges, polygraph test, etc. We are not the type who hide things and we were not fake on the show.
Himmanshoo has become a bigger star after this show
Amruta: Kahin na kahin hum donon mein yeh baatein bahut clear hai. Our industry (Marathi film industry) has a command here in Maharashtra and Himmanshoo would also accept that that before this show, in some places, I was a bit more successful than him (in the lie-detector test, Amruta had said that she felt she was more successful than her husband). But after Nach Baliye, Himmanshoo has become a star. It's okay and he accepts it. Today, Himmanshoo is a bigger star.
Himmanshoo: I have done TV shows before and my shows have done well, but they have not been ranked number one or number two. I always believe that success comes to you at some point of time. Kisi ko jaldi milti hai, kisi ko der se milti hai. I think it's come to me now.
Seeing other couples cheat was saddening
Himmanshoo: You feel sad when you see all that. People use unfair means to win a show, but I don't want to comment on anything like that. People have voted for us and have accepted us. We have gone through a polygraph test and everybody has seen us. That is what's more important.
Amruta: Aapka kaam bolta hai. You have to keep working. Jin logon ne cheating ki ya nahi ki, that's for everyone to see. Mrunal (one of the contestants on the show) ne jab boli thi jo baatein usse nahi kehni chahiye thi, tab Himmanshoo didn't say anything, but I said what I wanted to. He stood beside me. Kisi bhi reality show mein aisi baatein hoti hain. We haven't been those people who won't say 'hi' or 'hello' to people whom we have had a tiff with. I even apologised to Upen during one of the episodes. Everybody has a personal opinion and we our mantra is 'raat gayi, baat gayi, yaar'. We have spoken out against anything wrong. But that is all done and forgotten. We are all friends.
Haven't decided what we'll do with the prize money
Himmanshoo: At this point, we just want to party. I just hope Amruta doesn't take all the money and throw me out of the house! Next week, I'll be coming to Delhi and we will soon decide what things will be kept in Delhi and Mumbai.
Amruta: I am open to doing TV. I think my personality's suited to anchoring. If anything good comes up on TV, I'll be open to it.
Saloni Bhatia,TNN | Jul 21, 2015, 12.00 AM IST | TV Interview
comment:
p_commentcount