Huma Qureshi on delivering two back-to-back hits in Delhi Crime 3 and Maharani 4: 'Kuch toh ghatna ghat rahi hai' - Exclusive

Huma Qureshi is seen in Mahasrani and Delhi Crime Season 3

Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi finds herself in a very rare phase of her career which is two back-to-back hit shows on OTT.

Her latest shows, Maharani Season 4 and Delhi Crime Season 3, which have been released only a week apart, are trending at No. 1 and Huma couldn't have been happier.

In an exclusive chat with Moneycontrol, Huma Qureshi said she is getting immense love from the audiences and critics alike for her roles in Maharani and Delhi Crime 3.

Huma told us that she has been flooded with messages and appreciation for her starkly different performances as Rani Bharti (Maharani 4) and Meena (Delhi Crime), also known as Badi Didi.

During the conversation, Huma confirmed to Moneycontrol that Maharani will return with a Season 5. "4 years, 4 seasons, and the love of keeps growing. Very honoured to play this character, there will be a season five of Maharani," she said with a broad smile.

Thanks audience for their love 

Huma also thanked the audience for all their love to both Rani Bharti and Meena, her characters in Maharani and Delhi Crime Season 3.

In Delhi Crime Season 3, Huma plays the cold hearted and cruel Badi Didi, who is into human trafficking. Huma admitted with a broad smile on her face that 'something special is happening.'

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“The kind of messages I’ve been getting in the last two weeks, though I didn’t plan, it just so happened, at first Maharani came and literally a week after Delhi Crime came, and I feel whether it’s positioning, the reception, whether it’s the love. The love I’m getting right now for both these characters is unparalleled, and it’s really special. I know this is not normal, I know it doesn’t happen. Kuch toh ghatna ghat rahi hai. Kuch toh pehli baar ho raha hai. Something special is happening, I’m not questioning, I’m loving the love, the appreciation, the reviews, the fact that both the shows are trending number one. I don’t think this has ever happened before," she told Moneycontrol during an exclusive video interview.

Huma has aced the role of cruel and wicked Meena in Delhi Crime Season 3 and also getting back into the skin of Rani Bharti in Maharani 4, a smart politician.

We asked, what is her favourite dialect out of Bihari or Haryanavi, and Huma said: "Woh character par based hota hai. Mera favourite koi nahi hai, mera favourite mera Dilli wala accent hai jaise main baat karti hoon aik dum dil khol ke. (That (popularity) is based on character. I don't have a favourite; my favorite is my original Delhi accent, the way I speak from the heart, very naturally.") I think they both were difficult and both required different kind of prep. Bihari was easier for me as I had done it in 'Gangs of Wasseypur.' By now I think I can do that accent in my sleep only. And something happens the moment I put on my saree and walk from my van to the set, my walk only changes.”

Talking about her now famous character Rani Bharti in Maharani, she believes, it has evolved with every season.

Maharani Season 1 premiered on SonyLiv in May 2021 and it was an instant hit. Huma Qureshi as the naive Rani Bharti to a strong politician in Season 4, her character has grown over these 4 years.

“I wouldn’t call Rani Bharti as harsh, she is just strong, and believes in justice. This season has seen a different version of her, she’s now really come into her own, she’s become a full political animal, she understands how this world works, and she knows how to play it. Most importantly that for me was a very beautiful journey from where we started in season one to where she’s reached right now, and I think it’s really been… I think isse achcha likha hua character shayad hi cinema ya series mein kabhi hai of a woman leader. It has so many shades, so many nuances," she said showering praises on the strong woman character she gets to portray.

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Huma turns antagonist 

For 'Delhi Crime Season 3', Huma said she to undo her natural rhythm to become the cruel Meena.

“Even for Badi Didi, Meena in Delhi Crime Season 3, getting the accent was a very important part of my character. There is a lip cut detail that I have, or the way she stands, the way she uses her body, or she touches all the other girls, or the brutality, and there is some dismissiveness in her style. I had to really unlearn a few things as to how I will speak or as how I would talk and try to instill that into the character," she told us.

Huma also said that the physicality of her character Meena aka Badi Didi came from an understanding of trauma. Huma plays a kingpin in the show and it is for the first time, she is seen in an antagonist's role onscreen.

“The little scar we gave her, now we don’t know whether it just came from somebody attacking her, hurting her when she was little, or it came from her getting engaged in some sort of a fight. Whether she was the oppressed or the oppressor we don’t know that. Jab system ka failure hota hai na then Badi Didi jaise characters nikal kar aate hain. Crime ko hum badawa dete hai aur crime ko hum rokte nahi hai toh aise hi characters nikal kar aate hain. Although she is a woman, she is very much part of the problem, the patriarchy, she’s very much part of this crime world, and what is interesting is that she is the kingpin, she doesn’t have a man who’s running for her, she is the kingpin, she runs it," she said.

Since Maharani has been going strong with each season, we asked her the obvious, if she is interested in joining politics, to this Huma said just one line: "I’m not interested in politics at all."

Huma's rise in OTT 

Huma has done two completely diagonally opposite roles this time on the OTT space. The actress says but she doesn't take any inspiration nor does she try to copy anyone while performing her characters.

"You just read the script and it’s all there on the page. You speak to your director, your showrunner, writer and you understand where the text comes from. I don’t try to copy anyone. If at all, it is Mr Subhash Kapoor, he is the show’s creator. I don’t think I copied anybody, I just tried to tap into my own self to prep this character," she added.

Watch this exclusive interview of Huma Qureshi:

She also leans into Meena’s disturbing behavioural pattern. “We talk about good touch, bad touch. Badi didi keeps touching these girls. Badi didi keeps touching them, kissing them because she wants to keep roughing them up. She wants to desensitize these girls to all sorts of touch, whether it’s good or bad, they can’t tell the difference.”

Despite the intensity of her roles, her method to prep for her characters remains grounded.

“My process is very personal. My process involves very boring things, like reading the script, understanding it, asking some questions. Mera koi fancy prep nahi hai ki teen din room se nikle nahi, khana nahi khaya, brush nahi kiya. I feel jeevan jeekar bhi prep kar sakte ho. Uske results bhi achche hote hain. (I don't believe in fancy prep like locking myself in a room for three days without eating or brushing my teeth. I feel that you can prepare and still live life. And the results are good too.) I believe in the moments between action and cut, my responsibility is to fully submit to that moment, said Huma.

Huma is enjoying this phase and says, she feels blessed to have gotten so much love and adulation from the audience.

"I’m very very grateful and God has been very kind. I’m going through a very great phase and I want this to continue and I want to keep doing exciting work," she concluded.

If we look at Huma’s filmography it reflects this hunger for doing good roles. From Gangs of Wasseypur to Badlapur, Ek Thi Daayan, Leila, Monica O My Darling, Jolly LLB 2, Army of the Dead and Tarla, she has consistently experimented with genres and performance styles.

Maharani and Delhi Crime now join the list as two of her finest, most commanding characters.