Actor Huma Qureshi rose to fame with her Bollywood film, Gangs of Wasseypur 2 directed by Anurag Kashyap. The actress went on to do some strong characters in films like Badlapur, Dedh Ishqiya, Jolly LLB 2 and most recently Maharani streaming on SonyLIV. Charting her name among the very few actresses who have worked globally, Huma recently made her Hollywood debut with Zack Snyder’s Army of The Dead. The film was released in selected theatres in the US and also had a global release on Netflix recently.
The non-white talent in the film, Huma portrayed the character of Geeta, an Indian mother who tries to escape the quarantine camp along with her kids. The actress had back-to-back OTT releases this year and she feels OTT is a different experience. “OTT is the only source through which we can provide entertainment at this time. I am waiting for the theatres to open so I can go and watch a film,” begins the actor and observes that people also like watching long series. “Because they get into the complexity of the story, whereas in films we only have two hours to tell the story. For me, I enjoyed working on OTT series,” she adds.
With her short career of about nine years so far, Huma is content with the kind of work she is doing in India. And her recent outing in Hollywood with Zack Snyder was equally substantial. “Zack is very kind and generous. He made this big action movie with big ensemble actors but I felt very good working with him and he thinks wonderful things about me as an actor. I feel blessed as an actor to get to work in all different industries and experience different cultures,” she shares.
Are you planning to work more in Hollywood? We ask. “As an artist my focus is on good work, no matter which industry. I want to play good roles. If the role is good then why not?” she reacts.
While working with the team across the Pacific Ocean, Huma made some good memories, especially with the team. Huma shares that she cooked Indian food for everyone including Dal Tadka, Butter Chicken and Jeera Aloo. “We were shooting in Albuquerque in New Mexico and I was craving for Indian food. I wanted to eat Dal Chawal and the team also expressed their liking for the Indian food. So, I planned to cook for all of us. We found out one Indian store in Albuquerque where I got all spices, a pressure cooker and we had rented an apartment where I cooked for all of them,” recalls the actress and adds that people have fondness for Indian music and films as well in the US.
Amidst her busy schedule with a host of films, Huma has also managed to pen a story; we ask for details. “I am told it’s an expensive project,” she responds quickly. “I have written a story of a female superhero in the form of a television series. I discussed it with a few people in the US. However, during this pandemic I got some time to work on the script at home so I have fleshed out the story even more,” she reveals. It was the same time when Huma met Zack Snyder.
“My agent suggested me to meet him and I met the casting director who auditioned me and called me after three days and asked me if I wanted to do the character as they had seen my work in Leila. I agreed,” she confesses. Huma will next be seen in Bell Bottom releasing on July 27 in theatres and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi.
