There are actors who stick to a formula, and then there are actors like Huma Qureshi, who seem allergic to it, consistently choosing to play unconventional women!
Huma Qureshi is someone who never really chased the “perfect heroine” image. In fact, if you look at her filmography, it’s almost as if she’s gone looking for the women everyone else would skip over. They’re loud, morally messy, ambitious, intimidating, funny, vulnerable, sometimes unlikeable and often impossible to define. They’re not written to be admired all the time, but they’re impossible to ignore. And that started right from Gangs of Wasseypur. As Mohsina had wit, attitude and a presence that could hold its own in a film overflowing with unforgettable characters. More so because as a debut, it would’ve been easy to disappear, instead, she announced herself without making any noise. And that’s pretty much been her career!
Take Dedh Ishqiya, where she played the mysterious Muniya. Or Badlapur, where the sex worker Jhimli could’ve easily been reduced to just another supporting character. Qureshi gave them dignity, humour and heartbreak, making them memorable. In Ek Thi Daayan, she played Tamara, a character who kept you guessing till the very end, and while she wasn’t the loudest presence in the room, but there was an unsettling calmness about her that added to the film’s eerie atmosphere. Then there’s Monica, O My Darling, where she completely steals the show as Monica Machado. The character is glamorous, manipulative, funny and always two steps ahead. It would’ve been easy to play her as a stereotype, but Qureshi turns her into someone who’s both entertaining and strangely human.
