After spending over a decade in the film industry, Huma Qureshi believes she has finally reached a stage where she can shape her career on her own terms. The actor, who has completed 12 years in cinema, says she is now confident enough to bring her own creative touch to every project she takes up. This month, Huma has not only produced but also led the thriller ‘Baby Do Die Do’. She will next be seen in Geethu Mohandas’ action drama ‘Toxic’, starring Kannada superstar Yash. Calling the film a unique experience, she says, “It’s a mad, different world.”Looking back at her early years, Huma admits her idea of success has evolved significantly. While fame and visibility once seemed like the ultimate goal, she now values creative independence above everything else.Speaking to Mid-Day, she shared, “I wanted people to know me [then], but today success is about choosing the work that I do or choosing the people that I get to work with. Being able to say no to parts that you don’t align with and how you see yourself as an artiste, that is success for me,” she explains.The actor is equally vocal about resisting the industry’s tendency to stereotype performers. “I resent being put in a box. As an actor, there’s so much I can do, but I can’t force somebody to give me an opportunity, even if I think I would be really good at it. The opportunities that do come to me, I will try and ace them. It is fun, and I take great pride in the fact that I can do a hot item song in the same year that I do an important piece about women’s politics. I can age and de-age myself, I can do whatever because I’m an actor. I want to feel liberated from these shackles of other people’s ideas and expectations. Image-wimage kuch nahi hota. It is what you want it to be,” she asserts.
A romantic film is still on Huma Qureshi’s wish list
Although Huma has built a reputation for choosing unconventional and performance-driven roles, she reveals there is one genre she still hopes to explore. The actor says she would love to headline a romantic or mainstream commercial entertainer, even though such offers have largely eluded her. “If I do a commercial or romantic film, I will do it my way. I will not ape someone else’s idea of it.”
Huma Qureshi’s career marked by versatility
Over the last 12 years, Huma has showcased her range through projects such as ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, ‘Ek Thi Daayan’, ‘Badlapur’, ‘Tarla’, ‘Maharani’, ‘Monica, O My Darling’ and the upcoming ‘Delhi Crime 3’. Her varied choices reflect the very philosophy she champions, refusing to be confined by expectations while constantly experimenting with different genres and characters.
