Huma Qureshi: Barely understand politics and I wish to stay that way

Like her web debut Leila Huma Qureshirsquos latest offering Maharani has her leading from the front And boy does she grab your attention from the getgo From an illiterate homemaker who is content running her kitchen to running the state Qureshi lends at once a sensitive air and steely nerve to her Rani Bharti in the SonyLIV series In a chat with midday the actor talks about ldquodelivering ignorancerdquo with her eyes and why she will take ldquo10 years to understand politicsrdquoEdited excerpts from the interviewThere has been a lot of talk about Maharani being based on Rabri Devirsquos lifeThere is no similarity at all It is a work of fiction The germ of the idea may have come from there but the story is completely different Before people jump to conclusions they should watch the seriesWhat was your first thought when the series was offered to youWe made the series between the two lockdowns When the first lockdown happened Subhash sir Kapoor creator told me about the show It was one of the first Zoom narrations of my life I loved the story the world it is set in and the characterrsquos graphAlso Read Playing Rani Bharati is multifaceted that has been great honour to portrayA still from MaharaniHow did the role challenge youOur society has restrictions on what women should and shouldnrsquot do Rani her character is an illiterate homemaker For such a woman to become a chief minister and wield power is an inspiration We all have stories where wersquove been told lsquoYou cannot do itrsquo or lsquoThis is not for yoursquo Many people thought I couldnrsquot be an actor or move to Mumbai But I figured it out like most women When I was reading the script they had written that she was a strong woman I had an objection to the word lsquostrongrsquo In my life I have never met a woman who is not strongAs a character Rani Bharti is so different from me I have never lived in a village I have had the luxury of a good educated life and I am not married To become that character was a challenge If you know something how do you bring that ignorance into your eyes Intelligence is such a giveawayHow wellversed are you with Indian politicsI barely understand politics and wish to stay that way I am an actor delivering lines is my priority But Subhash sir writers Singh Nandan Uma Shankar Singh are wellversed in politics as they have a background in journalism By the time I figure out politics 10 years would go by Irsquod rather just focus on actingHaving worked in Hollywood are there any changes you would like incorporated in Bollywood The way MeToo brought about a change internationally perhapsPost MeToo India people aware that if one has an issue on a film set it can be addressed and put an end to The comfort of knowing the legal rights on a film set whether you are in front or behind the camera is important One thing Irsquod like to borrow from a Hollywood set is the silence Here everyone is talking when a shot is about to start which is irritating There itrsquos complete silence and helps an artiste to get into the zoneAre you satisfied with your Hollywood debutI debuted in Bollywood with Gangs of Wasseypur 2012 where I was launched with 200 other actors I have never been afraid of ensemble films The whole conversation about the length of the scene is silly It is about the impact I am creating The opportunity to be part of a Zack Snyder film Army of the Dead and its cinematic value is unparalleledAlso Read Army of the Dead Huma Qureshi is hanging out in the ruins