Actor Huma Qureshi was one of the other guest speakers at India Today’s Indo-UAE Conclave, where she spoke about the changing landscape in cinema and how script-writing has evolved over the years.
- Huma Qureshi spoke about struggles faced by outsiders and women in Bollywood
- She highlighted collective gatekeeping in the industry
- Qureshi criticised pressure on women to play younger roles
Actor Huma Qureshi got candid about the persistent barriers outsiders, especially women, continue to face in Bollywood. During her session titled ‘The Maharani of Reinvention: Breaking Stereotypes, Empowering Women’ at India Today’s Indo-UAE Conclave on May 15, the actor explained how she chose to work on her terms and conditions.
While speaking about the silent but systematic gatekeeping that shapes which stories are told and who gets to be in the spotlight, the actor said, “There is always been a gatekeeping of sorts, and it does not come from one particular person or agency. I think it’s a very collective kind of gatekeeping..”
“What kind of stories should be toldWho deserves to be represented, or who deserves that spotlight? My journey as a woman and an outsider in the business is not very easy. Till date, there are rooms I don’t have access to. There are so many parts that I could do, but those guys don’t call me. So, what do I do? Do I sit at home and cry and think Mujhe mauka nahi mila’ (I did not get a chance), so I am gonna lament,” she added.
In an industry where age and appearance often overshadow talent, Qureshi opened up about the harsh expectations of the industry women have to deal with. Recalling a recent conversation with a casting director who advised her to ‘stop ageing herself’ by playing mature roles, the actor shared a thought-provoking perspective on the pressure to look younger.
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“After the success of ‘Maharani’ and ‘Tarla’, which has got me immense love, one casting director called me and said, ‘You are such a beautiful woman. Why are you ageing yourself by playing these characters? There are so many other makers who want to work. Try to do younger parts.’ I am like ‘Why does this burden of playing younger parts always fall on girls? Why are we expected to try and look younger to who I am? I have done my fair share of singing and dancing around the trees, but if a great script comes my way, I should say no to it because I am afraid of portraying someone a few years older than me,” she added.
“The problem is either I can do multiple cosmetic surgeries and sit at home and wait for certain filmmakers to call me or I can go and work with those makers who are making all these interesting scripts and they want to work with me. This has been a huge shift when you start taking control of your own life choices and narratives,” Qureshi opined.
Meanwhile, on the work front, Huma Qureshi will appear next in ‘Maharani 4’. The story of Maharani follows Qureshi as Rani Bharti and is set in Bihar, delving into the state’s political landscape with real-life inspirations. The series debuted on SonyLIV in 2021, followed by its second season in 2022 and the third in 2024. It is created by Subhash Kapoor and directed by Saurabh Bhav