Huma’s unfiltered swagger: I’m so pretty! Trolls don’t matter when you’re busy building joy

Her role in Gangs of Wasseypur may be over a decade old, but Huma Qureshi continues to shape her career with bold, unconventional choices. Since then, she has built an eclectic filmography with titles like Dedh Ishqiya, Ek Thi Daayan, Badlapur, Jolly LLB 2, and women-led series such as Leila and Maharani. In an exclusive conversation with Lucknow Times, Huma opened up about her journey from Delhi to Mumbai with no Bollywood connect, choosing roles that carry main-character energy, and why conversations around fair pay and representation must shift from women to those who set the rules.

‘Lucknow aate hi apne aap zubaan mein tehzeeb aa jaati hai’

Huma, who has shot films like Dedh Ishqiya and Single Salma in Lucknow, finds the city’s unique demeanour and food rare in the world. “As an actor, my first film here was Dedh Ishqiya. Later, I spent almost a month in Lucknow while working on Single Salma. It was wonderful, as always. The people here are so warm and sweet. Honestly, one can fall sick just eating non-stop because the hospitality is overwhelming. Even today, before I arrived, my room was filled with Tunday Kabab, parathas, chaat, and so much food that it was practically spilling out everywhere. I wonder how people maintain a diet in Lucknow,” she said.




Praising the city and calling Lucknow a city of culture, she said, “There is so much culture and manners infused in the people of Lucknow. Wherever you go, the words aap, humaare and aapka just come naturally; there is no pretence. Lucknow aate hi apne aap zubaan mein tehzeeb aa jaati hai. People are so gentle in the way they speak and talk, which is rare to see in any other city in this country.”

‘I always bring main-character energy to the table’

Ask if choosing women-centric stories is a conscious decision for Huma who’s recently been seen in films like Single Salma, Bayaan and shows like Delhi Crime 3 and Maharani, and the actress in her unfiltered way agrees, saying that as an actor, she has more to care about than to look pretty in a film. “Very clearly, I believe, whether you are for the world or not, at least in your own life, you can be the hero of your own story. And I think for me, choosing the scripts is also like, okay, why am I doing in this? Sure, I am there, and there is a big film, a big budget, a big star, but that has never attracted me. It has never been the reason why I would say yes to a film. I am like, yes, but what am I doing? I don’t want to just show up, look pretty, do my hair and makeup, and then… what? I always bring main-character energy to the table, and that reflects in the films I choose,” said Huma.

‘The questions around work hours and fair pay are always asked to women who never even created those norms’

Citing the example of actress Deepika Padukone talking about the actor’s 8-hour shift, the actress, when asked to share her opinion on the same, says, “This question is almost always asked to women, but it should actually be posed to the men who make the rules. They are the ones who should be constantly questioned about equal pay, about ageism, and about work hours. But that rarely happens. I don’t take responsibility for the so-called norms of this business because women never created those norms. Only recently have women finally started getting a seat at the table and asking for what they really want. So, it feels unfair when these questions are directed at us,’’ says Huma.

She further adds to the conversation around fair pay and space for women in cinema. “As women, in any workplace, whether on a film set or in an office, you have to demand how you want to be treated. You have to demand respect. And that’s a battle not just for me but for millions of women, not just in India but all over the world. I recently did a film called Bayaan, where I play a cop investigating abuse against women in a small town. The film premiered at TIFF and then went to Busan. And my biggest learning from travelling with the film was that no matter where you go, the issues faced by women remain the same. Culturally, you could be in a so-called western world or in another Asian country like South Korea, and everyone resonated with this. The nuances change from place to place, but the problems don’t. Women are still lacking 100%,” Huma says, emphatically.

‘I am really spoiled for choices here to think’

Huma, who recently attended the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) for the world premiere of her film Bayaan, has international film projects like Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead and Gurinder Chadha’s Partition: 1947 to her credit, responds to whether global cinema is a larger part of her goal. “Yes, global cinema is a part of my journey. I am already doing Hollywood, but I don’t know if I can ever move there completely, as I am so happy here. I am really spoiled for choices. I have eight or nine things that are up for release. Touch wood, God’s been very kind. But yes, every few years I do want to do something globally as well.”

She further adds, “I am really excited about taking India-specific stories to a global audience. I am such a proud Indian, and I feel we live in such a beautiful country where every few kilometres the language, the culture, the food, everything changes. I want to take our stories to a global arena. Not sell poverty porn, mind you, but sell our stories to the rest of the world, because I feel we have so much to offer. Sure, we might make films about our problems, but the solutions will also come from us.”

‘I don’t have time to listen to trolls’

The Monica O My Darling actress also explains how she has stayed confident in her own sense of beauty and power over the years, “I am so pretty! I am confident because it’s the truth. I don’t know how else to be. If you believe something, then if somebody is trolling you, how does it matter? If someone is lying or saying something wrong or talking nonsense, then why do I have to pay any attention to that? I don’t have the time to listen to trolls. I don’t have the time to listen to people vent their own personal frustration on social media or in the media or whatever. I am very happy and very busy with my own life, trying to improve myself as a person, improve my family’s life, and bring joy to my audiences, to be bothered about some people who have nothing better to do,’’ she says.

-Amina Ashraf

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