Huma Qureshi Interview | On 'Maharani' and Bollywood's Dry Spell

"If not you, then who?" someone asks the Prime Minister (fictional, balding) in the new season of the SonyLIV series Maharani. Returning for its fourth rodeo—and nicely timed to coincide with the Bihar assembly elections—Subhash Kapoor's political drama series has broadened its canvas. This time, Rani Bharti, the unlettered homemaker played by Huma Qureshi who rose to CM, commandeering the state's politics and leaving a trail of bodies in her wake, is making the ultimate bid for power: Delhi.

"It's scaled up, it's larger, the stakes have gone up, there are new characters and the timeline has moved forward," says Qureshi, who locks horns with fellow Gangs of Wasseypur alumnus Vipin Sharma in the new season. It's a busy year-end for Qureshi, with the feature film Single Salma in cinemas and Delhi Crime Season 3 on hand (she plays the mysterious, promising antagonist 'Badi Didi' in the latter).

In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Qureshi spoke about the appeal and longevity of Maharani, her quest to become 'the most diverse actor' of India and the dearth of quality stories in the Hindi mainstream.

Edited excerpts from a conversation:

Rani Bharati is entering national politics this season. How did you react to this upping of stakes?

When season three ended, the character Gauri Shankar Pandey (played by Vineet Kumar) says something to the effect of Rani becoming the first Prime Minister from Bihar. That caught a lot of people's fancy and fuelled their imagination. Also, with the third season, the story arc of Rani seeking revenge (against her husband's killers) was complete. I had a chat with Subhash sir and our writer, Nandan Singh, and hinted at a national scale for the new season. When the episodes finally came to me and I read it, I absolutely fell in love with this new world. It's complex and diverse while retaining all the things that people have loved about the show.

The series has found a large following and is among a handful of Indian streaming shows to reach Season 4. How would you explain its popularity?

The kind of love I've got over the years for Maharani has been incredible. I don't think any other character I've played has gotten me this kind of mass appeal. I feel it's down to the fact that it's a hero's journey. It's a perfect hero's journey about a woman that nobody believes in. It's about an ordinary, illiterate woman who becomes chief minister and does right by herself and by her state. The show just captures everyone's imaginations, from housewives and homemakers to politicians and journalists. So whether I go to Shirdi or Banaras, or I'm in Singapore or London, Rani Bharati is the role people talk to me the most about. It's really very cool.

A criticism I have against the show is that none of it is shot in Bihar. It lacks visual authenticity for anyone familiar with the state. Have you ever brought this up with the makers?

No, I haven't. But I see your point. It's actually a production and logistics call. There's no ulterior reason or avoidance beyond that. I'm sure shooting in Patna or Darbhanga would be amazing because it's beautiful. Of course, it will lend a sense of authenticity to the show. But locations are decided based on costs and shooting convenience.

Huma Qureshi

The series has a way of addressing national events and scandals without drawing political heat. I feel the same way about the Subhash Kapoor's Lolly LLB films.

Subhash Kapoor is an exceptional filmmaker. He's the only person I know who's created successful franchises in both theatrical and OTT. He talks about politics and relevant social issues without offending or antagonising anyone. I think it can be credited to his way of telling stories from a very human perspective, and presenting both sides of the argument. Whatever your political affiliation, as long as humanity is your core belief, you will enjoy his work. Plus he has this amazing command over the language and dialogue-baazi.

This has been a dire year for Hindi cinema, with just a scattering of decent films. What do you make of the current state of affairs?

I feel the business is going through such a lull where people are just scared to make content. 2012 was my debut year, and if you look at the diversity of films that had come out that year — Barfi, Gangs of Wasseypur, Vicky Donor, Kahaani, Student of the Year — it was astounding. Currently, we have big-budget films 'machismo' films doing well. We are happy about it because it means more people are watching films. But small independent films don't find buyers or OTT platforms. The culture has also changed to a point where cringe-watching is normalised and virality is the only metric. I'm not trying to be old school, but you cannot make movies from a short-form content creator mindset. But people in positions of power are thinking like that.