Huma Qureshi: Wrote it originally as a TV show concept

Updated On: 09 December, 2023 06:12 AM IST | Mumbai | Mohar Basu

Turning author with Zeba: An Accidental Superhero, Huma on how she expanded on her idea of a fantasy fiction show to pen her first novel

Listen to this article :

Huma Qureshi

Zeba, the sassy protagonist of Huma Qureshi’s debut novel, Zeba: An Accidental Superhero, reminds us of Kamala Khan from Ms Marvel (2022), the hijabi superhero being the common motif. When we share our thoughts with Qureshi, she says, “She is more Deadpool than Marvel, don’t you think?” Through Zeba, the first-time novelist tells a story about heroism, transformation and the indomitable human spirit in the face of adversity. Like its protagonist, the book itself had quite a transformation. “I had written it originally as a 10-page concept for a TV show. Everyone loved it, but [creating a] fantasy fiction show is expensive. When COVID hit and I had two years to kill, I went back to it. I then thought of [making it] as a comic book series, but when I sat down to write, each chapter came to me in the voice of a film character. That’s how the story evolved,” she recalls.

Qureshi launched the book this week