EXCLUSIVE: Huma Qureshi on patriarchy: I was asked how can I aspire to be an actress? mocked for working in West

Huma Qureshi is undoubtedly one of the path-breaking actresses. She has been winning praises for her portray of Rani Bharti in Maharani. In a candid chat with Bollywood Bubble, Huma Qureshi opened up on patriarchy. Interestingly, the ideologies that Huma has stood up for in real life are very similar to the one that Rani stands for in the web series Maharani. So we asked the actress if she used any of her personal experiences while playing the character.

“Yeah, as a woman I think we all have our own sets of struggles no matter which profession you belong to. You have your own struggle, whether it’s your home or workspace, school or college. We live in a country that unfortunately ladkiyon ko ghar se school-college ya kaam pe jaana hota hai toh pachaas log chek dete hain. Or constantly they are being told, ‘You are not good enough, you can’t do this. Maybe your brothers can do it but this dream is not for you. So we live in a society like that so of course, I had my own journey as an individual girl. I have been often told that ‘You can’t do this.’ I came from Delhi so people said, ‘Arre you come from a middle-class home in Delhi so how can you aspire to be an actress?’ Similarly, when I try to work in the West people are like, ‘Arre tum India mein kaam karo an..kya zarurat hai?’ (laughs) So people say whatever they want. But I feel like if you have a dream, we should tell young girls or boys, ‘Please follow your heart, please follow your dreams. Don’t let these boundaries restrict you. Be yourself, be fearless, follow your passion because ultimately that’s what matters. You have to live a happy, fulfilled and authentic life’, ” Huma responded.

You can check out the entire conversation below:

The access further added, “While playing Bharti’s character I realised, on the surface of it I hail from Delhi, live, work and have a home in Mumbai. Rani Bharti gaon se hai, and she hasn’t even stepped out of her village ever. She has never been to school, she is not educated. So on the surface of it, a girl like Huma Qureshi and a girl Rani Bharti are so opposite to each other. But actually no, while playing her I realised so much strength she had as an individual. And because she is illiterate in the film, we always confuse that illiterate people are dumb or stupid. But Rani is not stupid. And I think a lot of women will identify with her, the ones who are always looked down upon for being uneducated. So for a person like Rani to go in a male-dominated world and to conquer it is amazing.”

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Also Read: Maharani REVIEW: Huma Qureshi excels in the series that had the potential to be great but it feels like a lost opportunity

Bhavna Agarwal

Assistant Editor at Bollywood Bubble. An ambivert who is currently high on K-dramas and K-Pop. A forever Bollywood fan, who continues to gush over solid stories and characters. Hit me up for a fine conversation over chai.

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