In the beginning, no one imagined that Himas would blur the lines between art and the most intimate forms of survival. Set in the constantly frozen nearness of the Himalayas, Himas is not only a film but a psychological expedition in itself, with the snow both as a setting and a character. However, the exquisite and haunting form of Himas is a testimony of human endurance and obsessive art. It comes at a price—a perfectionism that nearly shattered its creators.
The Story Beneath the Ice
In the film, Aarya (Rukmini Varma) is a mountaineer who, after an avalanche, gets trapped and cut off from her team in an abandoned research outpost, with only a malfunctioning AI drone as the last device of company as her sanity slowly erodes. Over an extended stretch of time, the lines between day and night, devastating perceptions and warm flashes of reality dissolve to expose a hidden truth around her and the secretive research base, as well as her own convoluted past.
The rest of the survival thrillers were set apart Himas because of the melodious touch exhibited by the film. It wasn’t simply about survival, but about the burdens of the soul one has to confront in the great stillness of the wilderness. In the words of director Aadil Khan, “It is a film about what the snow hides, and what it slowly reveals when the mind begins to fracture.”
Filming In the Coldest of Weathers: A Combat with the Elements
The challenging beauty of Himas came with a price. While shooting in the secluded valleys of Spiti and Zanskar, the temperature during the shoot dropped under -15 degrees celsius, which made every shoot a real test of suffering. There were instances were the equipment was frozen, batteries were drained while the filming crew had to hike several miles just to be in contact with the base of the production.
During one scene in which Rukimi Varma had to lie in snow for over 40 minutes, Rukimi suffered from mild frostbite. In an interview, Varma stated, “That scene wasn’t acting anymore. My body was genuinely shutting down. I could feel what my character was feeling — despair, confusion, surrender.”
Jeet Mehra, the cinematographer for the film stated that the camera lenses would permanent fog due to condensation. In order to obtain one clear take, Mehra stated that he had to “wrap heating coils around them.” “It was chaos. But the chaos gave us texture, the kind of rawness you can’t fake on a green screen,” says Mehra.
When The Budget Froze
The production started with a budget of ₹25 crores, but then began to run into question marks for the rest of the budget. The gear needed for the shoot had to be transported to high altitude locations, which meant using special trucks and supplying oxygen for the crew. Additionally, construction delays for the film meant that the crew had to wait for changes that resulted in months of scheduling delays.
It was said that in order to finance the production, Aadil Khan had to mortgage his apartment in Mumbai. The crew’s dedication impressed the local Himachal administration, who then provided support. Many technicians gave pay cuts so that the film could be completed.
A sound designer who wished to remain unnamed claimed, “We were freezing, hungry, broke — but when you heard the wind howl across those valleys you knew you were making something special.”
Silencing Everything, Losing Control, And Feeling Everything At Once
Himas’s direction required total emotional abandonment from the cast. In seeking to understand Aarya, the recluse, Varma is reported to have lived in isolation for days on end, characteristic of her urban polished stage roles. Between takes, she reportedly asked the crew to remain silent and not address her to protect her psychological space.
Arjun Sarin, her co-actor, who plays hallucinations, completed his scenes in isolation. The two did not interact on the set until the final day of shooting. This set is for the creative decision of Khan to preserve their emotional separation.
Even post production was not simple. The sound mix needed to mimic the chilling silence in the heights of the location, something which the studio acoustics were incapable of reporducing. The team incorporated on-site wind, echoing cracking ice, and footfalls to immerse the viewers and add depth to every frame.
During the filming process, an insignificant controversy appeared when the local population accused the crew of disturbing a religious site due to the use of a heavy light. The production shifted the focus of the shoot overnight but the damage was done and the incident was covered widely raising issues of ecological filmmaking.
Much later, when the Himas teaser was released, a section of the critics accused him of “overly arthouse” filmmaking and “manipulating emotions too much,” but later, when the film was first screened at the Busan International Film Festival, the same critics called the film “a sensory masterpiece,” which proves that art takes time to be appreciated.
When Art Imitates Endurance
The most interesting thing about Himas is the way the production of the film resembled the storyline. The movie’s themes of isolation, endurance, and moral dilemmas were reflective of the crew’s condition. Each blizzard which stopped the filming became a metaphor for Aarya’s struggles.
‘We were not simply filming in the cold; we were filming the cold that resided in our hearts.’ Khan said while on the set of his movie.
For the team, Himas was undoubtedly more than a movie; it was a trial of the spirit. Each of the individuals who emerged from that experience took with them a parting gift, whether it be a frosted souvenir, a personal triumph, or simply the lesson that beauty at times comes with a cost.
The Legacy and Its Consequences
The moment Himas was released in early 2025, the audiences were captivated by the strange calmness of the film. While it was not a major box office success, it went on to become very popular through word of mouth and was the subject of discussion in film clubs, essays, and various online platforms. Her quiet lines married with the intense visuals of the film inspired people to create many memes and parodies, but also powerful essays on feeling deep sense of isolation and enduring great emotional strength.
Rukmini Varma had the opportunity of a lifetime to feature in the film and it went on to become the highlight of her career. She was also the recipient of many festival awards due to her outstanding performance. For Aadil Khan, the film was a testament to the fact that following your passion is more powerful than chasing comfort. It was proof that on certain occasions, in order to be honest, you must be willing to lose it all.
When people think of Himas, it is hard to deny the fact that the film was able to pause not just its characters, but Khan himself. It is one of the very few pieces of work that shows the creator working in tandem with his message.
In both a film and reality, Himas served as a cue – a lesson and a warning — that some of the most frightful terrains yield the most soothing revelations.
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