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Hindustan Times
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Huma Qureshi says casting agent told her to 'do younger parts' after Maharani, Tarla: ‘You are such a beautiful woman'
Actor Huma Qureshi has diverse projects added to her filmography, with projects such as Maharani and Tarla shining bright. But the actor has revealed getting a phone call from a casting agent discouraging her to take on such mature roles, and made a request that left her stunned. Also read: Babil Khan feels hurt by paparazzi after 'weird' video with Huma Qureshi surfaces online. Watch Huma shared her views during a session at a conclave. She was speaking at 'The Maharani of Reinvention: Breaking Stereotypes, Empowering Women' session at India Today's Indo-UAE Conclave. Huma said, 'After the success of Maharani and Tarla, which has got me immense love, one casting director called me and said, 'You are such a beautiful woman. Why are you ageing yourself by playing these characters? There are so many other makers who want to work. Try to do younger parts.' I am like, 'Why does this burden of playing younger parts always fall on girls? Why are we expected to try to look younger than who I am? I have done my fair share of singing and dancing around the trees, but if a great script comes my way, I should say no to it because I am afraid of portraying someone a few years older than me'. The actor added, 'The problem is either I can do multiple cosmetic surgeries and sit at home and wait for certain filmmakers to call me, or I can go and work with those makers who are making all these interesting scripts, and they want to work with me. This has been a huge shift when you start taking control of your own life choices and narratives". Huma will be next seen in Subhash Kapoor's Jolly LLB 3. The movie also features Akshay Kumar, Arshad Warsi, Amrita Rao and Saurabh Shukla in pivotal characters. The actor will soon be back with the fourth season of her OTT show Maharani, in which she is seen in the role of a politician, Rani Bharati. The first season premiered on SonyLIV in 2021, with the second season released in 2022. The third season was released on SonyLIV on March 7, 2024. The release date of the fourth season is not out yet. Maharani has been created by Subhash Kapoor and is directed by Saurabh Bhave. It also stars Amit Sial, Vineet Kumar, Pramod Pathak, Kani Kusruti, Anuja Sathe, Sushil Pandey, Dibyendu Bhattacharya and Sohum Shah.
Zawya
06-05-2025
- Health
- Zawya
Marking International Women's Day 2025: Merck Foundation's 13-Year Commitment to Empowering Women, particularly Infertile Women and supporting Girls Education
Merck Foundation ( the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany together with First Ladies of Africa who are also their Ambassadors, Ministries of Health, Education, Communication&Gender, mark 'International Women's Day 2025', through their impactful development programs, continuing their 13-year legacy of empowering women and girls. Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and One of the Most Influential African Women for Six Consecutive Years (2019 - 2024) expressed, 'Happy International Women's Day to all the remarkable women and girls around the world! Empowering girls and women is at the core of all our initiatives and programs at Merck Foundation. I recognize the immense potential of women to thrive, succeed and excel in any domain they choose, yet they often lack the conducive environment to fully realize their capabilities, especially in underserved communities. Therefore, together with our Ambassadors, The First Ladies of Africa, we mark International Women's Day every day since the last 13 years through our development programs and initiatives such as ' More Than a Mother', 'Merck Foundation Capacity Advancement', 'Educating Linda', and 'STEM Program'." "Merck Foundation More Than a Mother" is a strong movement that aims to empower infertile and childless women through access to information, education and change of mindset. 'I am thrilled to share that out of the 2,250 scholarships awarded across 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved specialties, 1048 scholarships, that is nearly 50% have been granted to female medical graduates, empowering them to become future healthcare experts and leaders. I am especially proud that we have awarded over 701 scholarships to young doctors, dedicated to advancing women's health by strengthening reproductive, sexual health, and fertility care capacity.' Merck Foundation CEO strongly believes that Education is one of the most critical areas of women empowerment. 'I am happy to share that through our 'Educating Linda' Program, together with my dear sisters, our Ambassadors, we are supporting the education by providing over 950 scholarships for high performance and underprivileged African schoolgirls, empowering them to complete their studies and reach their full potential and also providing essential school items for thousands of schoolgirls in many African countries such as Botswana, Burundi, Malawi, The Gambia, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Namibia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cabo Verde and more. Moreover, we have benefitted thousands of girls through our awareness campaign through many initiates like the release of inspiring songs, children's storybooks, animation films, TV Program and awards for best media, song, film&fashion designs, all aimed at promoting girl education today for women's empowerment tomorrow', emphasized Senator Rasha Kelej. Merck Foundation also actively empowers women in Science and Technology through its STEM Program and the annual Merck Foundation Africa Research Summit (MARS) Awards that recognize and celebrate the Best African Women Researchers and Best Young African Researchers, fostering research excellence. 'Our goal is to empower women and young African researchers, enhance their research capacity, and promote their contributions to STEM,' emphasized Dr. Kelej. Watch the Episodes of 'Our Africa by Merck Foundation' TV program on Supporting Girl Education: Episode 2: Episode 11: Episode 14: Listen to Merck Foundation song about Supporting Girl Education here: Watch, share&subscribe to the 'Girl Can' song here, sung by two famous singers, Irene and Cwezi from Liberia and Ghana respectively: Watch, share&subscribe the ' Like Them ' song here, sung by Kenneth, a famous singer from Uganda: Watch, share&subscribe ' Take me to School ' song here, sung by Wezi, Afro-soul singer from Zambia, to support girls' education: Watch share&subscribe ' Tu Podes Sim ' Portuguese song, which means ' Yes, You Can ' in English by Blaze and Tamyris Moiane, singers from Mozambique in English here: Watch the Merck Foundation Animation Films to Support Girl Education : Ride into to Future: Jackeline's Rescue: Read the Merck Foundation storybook addressing the importance of Girl Education: To read Educating Linda Storybook, pls visit: To read Jackline's Rescue Storybook, pls visit: To read Ride into the Future Storybook, pls visit: To read Not Who You Are Storybook, pls visit: Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Merck Foundation. Contact details: Mehak Handa Community Awareness Program Manager +91 9310087613 / +91 9319606669 Join the conversation on our social media platforms below and let your voice be heard! Facebook: X: YouTube: Instagram: Threads: Flickr: Website: Download Merck Foundation App: About Merck Foundation: The Merck Foundation, established in 2017, is the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people and advance their lives through science and technology. Our efforts are primarily focused on improving access to quality&equitable healthcare solutions in underserved communities, building healthcare&scientific research capacity, empowering girls in education and empowering people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with a special focus on women and youth. All Merck Foundation press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck Foundation Website. Please visit to read more. Follow the social media of Merck Foundation: Facebook ( X ( Instagram ( YouTube ( Threads ( and Flickr ( The Merck Foundation is dedicated to improving social and health outcomes for communities in need. While it collaborates with various partners, including governments to achieve its humanitarian goals, the foundation remains strictly neutral in political matters. It does not engage in or support any political activities, elections, or regimes, focusing solely on its mission to elevate humanity and enhance well-being while maintaining a strict non-political stance in all of its endeavors.
