Huma Qureshi recently opened up on how she felt ‘lost’ and insecure about herself when Gangs Of Wasseypur released and turned out to be a huge hit at the box office.
Huma Qureshi tasted success in Hindi cinema with her portrayal of Mohsina in Anurag Kashyap’s cult two-part gangster film Gangs Of Wasseypur. In a recent interview, the actress opened up on the challenges she faced post the success of this Anurag Kashyap directorial.
While speaking with renowned journalist Barkha Dutt for Mojo Story, Huma said that while Gangs Of Wasseypur give her an ‘identity’, she felt lost post the release of the film.
The actress said, “I got my first brush with success pretty early on. Maybe it was just this enthusiasm of getting out of the house and being (an actor) and then Gangs of Wasseypur happened. By 2010, I moved to Mumbai and by 2012 the film was out and it became this big hit in India. My world just exploded. This was a film where they paid me some Rs 75,000, that’s it…I am working with them (Viacom 18) now, they are my producers. But that was my first film and it wasn’t a fancy affair. There were no five-star hotels, cushioning of vanity vans or an army of people (following you). It was like a bunch of people, who went to Varanasi for three months, shot and came back. Nobody had any clue what was happening. So when it came out, I was like, ‘Whoa! I am the lead in the film? My face is on the hoarding?! Should I have gotten paid more for it? Is this how movies get made?’”
Admitting that working on Gangs of Wasseypur was a ‘special experience’, the Dedh Ishqiya actress said that she felt lost and didn’t know what was happening post the film’s release.
“Because for me, coming to Mumbai, meeting people, doing auditions, getting a film happened rather quickly and I didn’t have a game plan after that. I was lost in choice. I was always working, that was never a problem but I was lost in myself. Like finding my own voice, finding myself, who I was, what kind of films I like to do, what I didn’t like to do,” Qureshi told Barkha.
She further continued, “I was insecure about everything, about myself, how I looked at the work that was happening. Maybe insecure about why am I not doing the films others are doing. I didn’t have anyone to talk to. I had a younger brother in the film business, who was also figuring his way out. There was a shoulder to cry on, but really no one to help you navigate that situation. But I never thought of giving up.”
On the work front, Huma’s latest film Tarla based on India’s first home chef Tarla Dalal is currently streaming on Zee5. The movie also features Sharib Hashmi in a pivotal role.
