Huma Qureshi

After 'Gangs,' people thought that I couldn't speak a sentence in English or that I don't wear jeans or, you know, I am a city girl.

I wouldn't say that I haven't got my fair share of good roles. This industry has been very kind to me.

I have always said that Twitter is my forum to talk to people about what's happening in my life.

If I'm playing an Indian in a Hollywood film, I won't do it in any funny Indian accent.

Indian actors are afraid to go and work abroad because people are very professional over there. In India, we have become very lazy. Everything happens slowly, and as per God's will. A 9 A.M. call time means we start working at whatever time we wish.

One thing we need to learn from the West is how professional they are about their work. A 7:30 A.M. call time means just that. That's something we need to imbibe from them. And people in the West need to learn from us how we work with our stories.

What I miss most about Lucknow is its chaat.

For me, growth and empowerment are about giving a woman a choice.

I believe in content. Just looking pretty next to the hero gives me no joy. I believe I have more to offer than that.

No one likes it when their personal life is talked about, and I am no exception. But I guess it's the price an actor has to pay for being in the public eye.

As a middle class girl from Delhi, with practically no backing in films, this industry and the audience have given me a lot of love.

Co-directing is not possible with my brother. We have very different opinions.

Maybe at 55, I would like to direct. I will go the Angelina Jolie way.

I don't think one should be a slave to one medium.

I remember, during an ad shoot, Anurag said to me that you are doing my film, and I was wondering do we really get films so easily. I thought you have to struggle and all. But he kept his word and offered me 'Gangs Of Wasseypur.'

I think you don't have to be size zero to prove yourself... to connect with the audience.

I'm still in awe of Madhuri. I've grown up watching her movies, and to see her in a film like 'Dedh Ishqiya,' which is quite unlike her previous work, was wonderful.

I am bored of the 'Gangs of Wasseypur' image.

As an artist, I am very proud of 'Ek Thi Daayan.' It was a supernatural flick and a huge risk, since not many films are made like that.

Every girl brought up in the '90s would idolise Madhuri and would want to work with her. I'm just happy that I've been able to achieve that.

I just know that if your work is good, good work follow.

I don't want to be the glam doll; that doesn't appeal to me at all.

I am not in a hurry to be number one. I don't want to be in the rat race in that sense.

I am a product of '90s movies. I grew up watching '90s films and wanted to become an actor because that was the phase of cinema I enjoyed.

The audience is loving me the way I am, and that's most important.

The film is intended to unite people and not create division in the society. 'Partition' talks about peace and humanity.

I am an insecure person. I have my own insecurities about lots of things, but I am pretty secure as an actor.

I have always been cool and open about my body.

I have been told too much - to talk less, to keep my opinions to myself, to not sound intelligent - all this was told to me so that I could fit in. But I never thought I fit in anyway. So if you don't fit in, at least stand out.

I don't have any ego, and I will go and audition for parts if I'm offered an interesting script.

I would love to do a biopic or a situational comedy.

The very fact that I got to work with Akshay Kumar was special.

A lot of issues that we have in the world today rise from the fact that we do not know enough about each other's cultures, that we don't respect each other's origins and there is so much negativity and strife around because we don't know where the other person is coming from.

If a woman is saying something out loud, she is asking for help, and you have no business to character assassinating her. You have to reach out to her and help her and protect her, and I think we need to protect our women, and we need to protect our children.

In India and elsewhere in the world, the moment a woman speaks out against harassment, people sort of start making all sorts of character judgments about her, about her morality, about what she was wearing, and all such things, and I think that is not fair.

As a woman, absolutely, I have had to deal with people making advances at me, but not just people from the business of film industry but people across different professions and different strata. I think it has a lot to do with power; it is not only limited to the film business.

I grew as an actress, and I feel I gained a lot, whenever I have worked with any great director in the past.

Working with directors like Gurinder Chadha was a learning experience for me.

I agree that I am different from others. I am not trying to fit in someone else's shoes. I am being honest to myself.

There are a lot of people out there who are just bullies. They constantly keep telling you that you are too fat, too thin, your teeth are not fine, you can't speak English really well, and you are too short, etc.

Collaboration between different parts of the world will bring us closer. From a business point of view, it opens up new markets as well.

As a member of the audience, when you see someone from your country working in an international project, your curiosity about that film increases manifold.

It is a challenge to work away from India and with a cast and crew from all over the world. But it's also very gratifying, and you learn so much by just being with them.

Whether my film becomes commercially successful or not, only God can tell, or the box-office numbers. So why worry about it and get distracted?

I just cannot do a boring film. It has to be interesting with a good character.

I make it a point to pick films that tell you a story in an engaging way. I can't compromise on the content. The script has to be substantial and impactful.

I know that when you do similar kind of films, one after the other, people tend to stereotype and say, 'She is only good at this.'

Cinema and cricket are two professions in this country that people have an opinion on.

My parents gave me a strong sense of entitlement. And I use that in a very good way.

As an actor, I don't have an agenda. I don't have to prove a point; I am not a bastion of a particular brand of cinema. I am doing what makes me happy.