Tum Bin actor Himanshu Malik reveals he was asked to have an affair for publicity

Himanshu Malik of Tum Bin fame has shared how he first became aware of the workings of the film industry. He said in a new interview that he was asked to have an affair with someone as renowned as him in order to stay in the spotlight.

Himanshu, who starred as one of the three male leads in Anubhav Sinha's love drama Tum Bin, is now directing Chitrakut, which is set to be released soon.

"I got a glimpse of how the industry is soon after Tum Bin and it disturbed me a lot. That was a time when magazines used to be huge. So I got a call from one huge magazine publication, asking me to have an affair. 'If you have an affair with an upcoming actress, it makes for a good story', I was told," Himanshu told Navbharat Times in an interview.

He added, "I was shocked to realise such a thing happens. I was told 'Yes, no one becomes a star without the publicity. We will talk to one or two candidates, they will be as famous as you are. We will even get you a room in Goa. You just go there and we will expose."

Himanshu's debut feature film, Chitrakut, was shot in 2018-19 and released on May 20. Chitrakoot is produced by Akbar Arabiyan Mojdeh and Mojtaba Movies and written and directed by Himanshu. Auritra Ghosh, Vibhore Mayank, Naina Trivedi, Kiran Srinivas, and Shruti Bapna star in the film.

Speaking about the film, he told Hindustan Times, “It’s a relationship drama about love, companionship and transmission it creates. We shot it in Goa, Mumbai and Pune. The city’s name has been used as a metaphor and a symbol of love, as per the mythology. It's a young cast who have been around and doing some really good stuff.”