Huma Qureshi: My plan is to do some interesting work in the West

Huma Qureshi has been in the industry for nine years and has featured in some remarkable films like Gangs of Wasseypur, D Day, Dedh Ishqiya, Badlapur, and others. In 2019, she made her digital debut with Netflix’s Leila, and this year made her Hollywood debut with Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead.

Huma will next be seen in BellBottom which is all set to hit the big screens on 19^th August 2021. While talking to PTI, the actress opened up about her role in the film, and said, “I play a special undercover agent, who works at the airport and is helping Indian agents get back to the hijacked plane and that's how she becomes crucial to the mission.”

“The film is about a mission and how all these people (agents) come together. I am glad I did this film, it has a lot of dramatic and edge-of-the-seat moments,” the actress added.

While talking about shooting the film during the pandemic, the actress said, “I knew we were in safe hands. For me, it was about supporting Pooja Films and Akshay sir who were trying to make a film at a time when the whole world had for the first time shut down.  There was a sense of kinship and that we all are in this together and we can't let the pandemic affect us. We can't stop earning a livelihood and we have to get the industry up and running but we all have to be careful at the same time. It is important for all of us to support it.”

BellBottom will be the first Bollywood film to hit the big screens post the second wave of Covid-19 in India, and Huma hopes for things to get better and theatres reopen to full capacity across the country and the world.  "But that can happen once the situation is under control. Having said that, we have to figure out new ways and strategies on how to work and release films. The magic of cinema will always be there. Everyone is wanting that social interaction and we are trying to do that through our film," the actress said.

While Huma has proved her mettle as an actor, we haven’t seen her much in female-led stories apart from Leila and Maharani. But, she believes that there is a market for female-led stories. She said, “The amount of films that should have been made with female-centric characters or women leading the cast is less. They are being made but I feel there should be more such films. There is a need for it and the market is also ready for these kinds of stories.”

After Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, Huma is now keen to do more work in the West. The actress said, "My plan is to do some interesting work in the West. It is a great opportunity for me to work with good filmmakers and studios.”

Directed by Ranjit M Tewari, BellBottom also stars Lara Dutta and Vaani Kapoor.