Huma Qureshi on life, parents and being one of a kind

I am a bit of gundi, a bit of a badmaash, and I wear that tag proudly," says Huma Qureshi. "You can't mess with me. If you do, you just get it back." This comes from a kebab shop owner's daughter who left Delhi for Mumbai, pleading that her father give her time to pursue her Bollywood dream or she'd live with regret all her life.

It's the words of an actor who in her first film, a twopart, almost six-hour crime drama, stood out in an ensemble of 200 actors. It's a young woman who has climbed 4,000 metres to conquer Low's Peak on Borneo island in Malaysia. ("Everybody should do it. There is a certain sense of accomplishment that comes with it"). A lady who likes to watch fights of boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and would love to play Pakistani latest superheroine Burqa Avenger.

At her new rented home in Bandra, which she shares with brother, actor Saqib Saleem, and which currently houses her parents, who are visiting for Ramzan, Qureshi shows no signs of being tired from fasting. It's five in the evening, but there is enough energy to pack in an interview and then a script narration. A pop portrait of Madhubala stands out in the spacious balcony, a luxury in Mumbai. Tiny owl figurines are perched on a shelf in the living room. In the kitchen are kebabs from her father's well-known Delhi eatery, Saleem's. Dressed in a long black dress with a loose shirt serving as a jacket, Qureshi labels herself as an "interesting mainstream" actress. That's because she doesn't restrict herself to independent films (as Badlapur in 2015 and D-Day in 2013 prove) and she is also not entirely commercial (look at Dedh Ishqiya in 2014 and Ek Thi Daayan in 2013).

Qureshi with Gangs of Wasseypur II actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Qureshi won't feature in a film just for the sake of having a release a year. "Films are for posterity," says the 29-year-old. "I shouldn't be embarrassed later with the film. My biggest fear is I'd be like 'Ahhh! Why'd I do it?'

That way I'm a very careful person. I have got films because of a combination of factors with good luck being the foremost. I have been fortunate to work with great directors. I am true blue Qureshi in the sense I want my plate full. I am a greedy actor. I am not a part of the race. I am not cut out for it. There is no pressure to fit in." Her choices suggest that she is in control of her own career trajectory. She calls herself "a product of ensemble films". She played a lesbian who cons the men in Abhishek Chaubey's stellar sequel Dedh Ishqiya. The sole female secret agent in Nikhil Advani's thriller D-Day, she handled a gun with assuredness as she tried to nab India's most wanted man. She has played the seductive prostitute caught in Sriram Raghavan's dark revenge tale Badlapur.

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"We live in a time and age where you can't be afraid," she says. "The new formula is that there is no formula. Actors such as Alia Bhatt and Kangana Ranaut are making great choices and pushing the envelope. There is a great sense of pride to be a part of Bollywood. Twenty years down the line, I can tell my children that I enjoyed working here." It's been a good five-year ride in a journey that could easily be adapted for the big screen. A Muslim girl leaves the protected embrace of her family in Greater Kailash II, Delhi, and arrives in Mumbai where she initially lives as a paying guest in Juhu.

"Working in films was not seen as a respectable, intelligent profession," she says. "I didn't want to take too much money from my parents. I didn't have a job. I didn't want to study further when my parents wanted me to go abroad. I felt guilty, like I let them down in a way. My father wanted to come and set me up with a house and a car and I was like 'No'. I wanted to prove it to them that it was a good choice. I wanted freedom. I want to slog it out in Mumbai." She wasn't signed up by any modelling agency when she did her first ad with Abhishek Bachchan. She made only Rs 5,000. Later, she realised she was under-paid. She hung out at Prithvi Cafe where she was approached by both burgeoning filmmakers and casting directors. "More or less, I have met good people in life," she says.

Her Instagram feed shows some of these people. Her circle of friends includes Arpita Khan, Mini Mathur, and Maria Goretti. "I am a very easy person to hang out with. I can strike a conversation with anybody. I genuinely like engaging with people. Sometimes I have to check myself and be like 'Oh! I am an actress and should be a little mysterious.' I'm a people's person. I take people at face value. I don't have any hang ups. I really think we obsess a lot about what other people think of us. I don't have the time or energy to really think about other people's ulterior motives if there are any."

It's a trait that has served her well but also has her brother worried about her. Says Qureshi, "Sometimes people do let you down. It is not a good feeling. As long as I know that the intention wasn't bad or wrong, I can forgive and move on. But I don't forget." Reminder, nobody messes with Huma Qureshi. And when they do, such as when a tabloid links her to an actor-filmmaker, she reprimands them in the politest way: "Kuch bhi likhte ho aap."

Having her brother in the same profession has helped. While she is managed by talent agency CAA Kwan and Saqib by YRF Talent, the siblings "have become closer" after the move to Mumbai. "The film industry has made our connection stronger," says Qureshi. "He is my best friend. In this dog-eat-dog world, he is my support system whose perspective helps me a lot. He is a better judge of people. We are different personalities, but our likes and dislikes and circle of friends are similar. We brainstorm a lot. Most of our friends are not from the industry. It is refreshing and it keeps us engaged." The two will for the first time feature in Zahhak-a remake of hit Hollywood horror Oculus. The elder sister describes the experience of working with her younger sibling as "a little scary". "There is no demarcation between real and reel. The distinction between a co-star and brother was a bit blurred in my head. We are mad, fun, normal siblings. This film is intense. I hoped that didn't damage our relationship."

She cares a lot about relationships. Such as the one with NK Sharma of Act One theatre group in Delhi, with whom she trained for a year-and-a-half while studying history at Gargi College in Delhi. "I was a really confused child. I knew what I didn't want to do but I didn't know what I wanted to do either," she says. "He was the first person who gave me the confidence that I could actually act as a professional and that I was good at it. That meant a lot to me. Even today, I call Panditji if I'm confused whether I should do a project. His advice is always so real and simple. Sometimes when you are in Mumbai, you are blown away by the razzmatazz and you just need to go back to the basics."

And finally, there are her parents whom she always aims to appease. "My family has always taught me grace, honesty and dignity," she says. After eight years in the city, she has bought a house in Andheri. Getting her first car, a Range Rover, she feels made her father proud. "He was pleasantly surprised. I think for him it was like she said she would do this and she did it without any help including ours." Her mother though is a different ball game altogether. "My mom keeps scolding me all day. If anybody can help me just convince her that I have achieved something in my life," she laughs.

Her mother may change her opinion when she sees Qureshi in her first international production-Gurinder Chadha's Viceroy's House starring Gillian Anderson, Hugh Bonneville and Manish Dayal. Qureshi tested for the part-of a Muslim girl who falls for a Hindu during the Partition-and earned it. "The future is to do these co-productions," says Qureshi. "She (Gurinder) is mad, fun to work with and really specific about what she wants. Her vision is extremely clear. This is a big, mammoth epic production. Her husband, Paul Mayeda Berges, and she have been working on the script for past three years." There's also her first regional film, White, with Malayalam star Mammootty. Ask her why she did it, and Qureshi showcases her funny side. "It was being shot in London. Aur waise bhi main Bihar, Benares, Jaunpur, Gorakhpur mein film karke itna pareshaan ho gayi hoon ki mujhe laga kar lete hai." She learned Malayalam phonetically and in one scene tells the veteran actor the appeal of Shakespeare. She is far from done with Bollywood. She wants to do a comedy. "Our characters on screen are so strong that that's what people think you are when you are nothing like them," she says reflecting on why she hasn't been offered one yet. "I don't think the kind of comedy that gets made these days is a comedy at all. This is some kind of trash that gets circulated under the garb of comedy."

She is still learning how to meet Bollywood's great expectations. "For actors like me who have come from the acting route, with a background in theatre, as opposed to a model or a star child, there is this pressure to look glamorous. There is little space for genuine personality to shine. Superstars ka zamaana kuch aur tha. They weren't carbon copies of each other. Today, in the time of social media, you have to think about what you wear to airport. Who wears stilettos to the airport? It is ridiculous. Get real. It is important to look beyond the frills."

But she appreciates how Bollywood has embraced a "kebabwaali's daughter" for who she is. "It's a pretty cool deal. I never thought I'd make it this far. I wanted to do a film. I have never had to change my behaviour because I have been in the presence of XYZ. I have always been myself. I think that's what people like or appreciate. It's transparent. You can smell fakeness from a mile; if you are authentic then people will accept you."

Photograph by Bandeep Singh; Location Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel, Powai; Hair: Mona Anand, BBlunt; Stylist: Meher Ahmed; Make-up: Subhash Vagal