During her interview with Huma Qureshi at the 76th Cannes film festival, Anupama Chopra couldn’t have put it better, “What a killer 2025 you’ve had,” she says to the actress, who has truly shown the world of cinema that being labelled as an actress does not in anyway confine you to the commonly assumed role of one.
From being the face of films like Maharani to mastering wonderfully complex roles in widely acclaimed television shows like Delhi Crime, Qureshi holds an impressive ability to become totally immersed with the character she plays. While it would be safe to say that the world has truly been her oyster, it has only come with learning with time, experience, and, as someone from a non-film background, navigating the industry through a very vulnerable lens that has only showed her how to find her voice amid the uncertainty.
“You just come to Mumbai and you want to see yourself on the big screen. You think if I just walk into a room, and there's a camera, and I can do a bunch of lines, and say the right words, you know, that's all it takes,” she says, encapsulating the many misconceptions people associate with wanting early fame and success in the industry. She believes that “there’s a lot that happens behind the scenes,” and that you need a completely different skillset to make sense of everything which “has nothing to do with acting or performance.”
“I love the fact that as I’m getting older, I’m getting more sure of who I am and what I want,” says Qureshi, elaborating on the importance of giving yourself the time and experience to find your voice in the industry.
Speaking of finding her voice, the actress also talks about how her production company allows her to tell stories that resonate with them.
“Of course we make a few mistakes,” she says, “but the idea is that you know we’re here, we want to tell stories, and we want to tell stories that possibly other people are not making with us, but we believe in them,” she adds.