Huma Qureshi: The ‘Maharani' of reinvention

India Today

21-05-2025

Huma Qureshi has had a lot brewing lately. As if her acting duties weren't enough, she has donned the cape of a producer, written a novel that she hopes to adapt into a feature, and is developing a sari brand.There's also the passion project of celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saleem's, her father's famous restaurant in New Delhi. At India Today's Indo-UAE Conclave 2025 in Dubai recently, Qureshi said she's enjoying her current state of 'exploration'. It has seen her as the face of one of streaming's popular and longest-running series in Maharani (on SonyLIV) and amassing quite an upcoming roster with a new season of Delhi Crime, a new edition of the Jolly LLB franchise, and being part of the highly-anticipated Yash-starrer Toxic.advertisement'For two kids who came from Delhi not knowing a single person in Mumbai to have reached this far has been nothing short of magical,' said Qureshi of her and brother Saqib Saleem's journey in the Hindi film industry. 'Despite all claims of the industry being so closed, it still opened its arms to both of us and gave a lot of opportunities.'Qureshi has been riding the streaming wave successfully, having been part of Leila and Mithya as well as the beloved Netflix film Monica, O My Darling, where her titular act of a femme fatale, unlike one she's done before, won her much appreciation.
'I just like to have fun with my characters. The only rule I have is that I will never repeat myself,' said Qureshi. Her stubbornness, she noted, came in handy as she has worked towards picking parts that break stereotypes. 'I guess anytime someone said you can't, mustn't and shouldn't do this, I have always questioned 'Why not?' That's the key defining factor for me as an artiste and an individual,' she said.advertisementThe mentality took her far and helped cope with challenges. There have been doubts, mistakes committed and comparisons made, but what's worked is that she decided 'to be true to yourself'. Qureshi won't let industry expectations of appearance weigh her down or determine her choices.'Why am I expected to always try and look younger than who I am? If a great script comes my way, I should say no to it because I am afraid of portraying someone who is a few years older than me?' Instead, Qureshi, 38, takes control of her own narrative, be it being one of the first to ride the OTT wave to leave a distinct mark on all her characters. Her only grouse—she wants more dancing parts. 'I am such a good dancer,' she said. 'It's such an unfortunate thing. Can we start a petition?'HUMA UNCUT@INDO-UAE CONCLAVE* 'Every time someone tries to put me in a box, I am like 'No, give me a reason why?''* 'There are parts I can do but I don't get the calls. So what do I do? Sit at home and cry ki mujhe mauka nahin mil raha hai? I am not going to lament. I am going to go out there, take control of my own narrative and choose the stories I want to tell and the filmmakers I want to work with.'advertisement* 'I feel like now we are in the 2.0 era of the OTT revolution where we need to rethink what kind of stories we are putting out there and who we want to reach.'* 'For sure female-led shows and films are doing extremely well. But I will give you something to chew on. I am part of one of the most-watched-and-loved show Maharani, but am I getting paid as much as the male counterparts who are doing shows? Far from it.'* 'I just like to have fun with my characters. The only rule I have is that I will never repeat myself.'Subscribe to India Today Magazine