Huma Qureshi on nepotism: If I had chosen to sell kebabs, it’d be easier for me

Actor Huma Qureshi doesn’t mince her words when taking a stand. She was among the first few actors who openly spoke about favouritism in Bollywood. Not long ago, when the issue really caught fire, following actor Kangana Ranaut describing filmmaker Karan Johar as the “flag-bearer of nepotism”, Huma had been vocal on the subject.

“Anybody who says that favoritism doesn’t exist in Bollywood would be lying. I can completely understand that nobody chooses to be born into a given family. It’s not a blame game where I’m trying to put down another person and say that somebody else does not deserve [to be] where they are in their career and life,” says Huma, 30, adding that it takes a lot of hard work, talent and determination to become successful and admired.

The actor points out that even if a person is a ‘star kid’, success won’t come easy and that person still has to work for it. “However, the opportunities that come to you are far easier; the projects that are offered to you are far bigger; the budget sanctioned for your films would be much bigger,” says Huma.

“There are so many talented people out there who don’t get the same kind of opportunities. My father runs a restaurant business in Delhi, so if I had chosen to sell kebabs, it would be far easier for me than for anybody else,” adds the actor. Her father Saleem Qureshi runs a chain of restaurants.

Huma recently made her Hollywood debut with Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House, and in Bollywood, she has been steadily building up a notable body of work. Her breakout movie was Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), and she was also seen in Dedh Ishqiya, Badlapur and Jolly LLB 2. With all that experience, she maintains that it’s not a level playing field. “Not all are starting from the same line; however, the finishing line is certainly the same. We all have to show how much money our films make, or how many awards we win, or what critical acclaim and commercial success our films have,” she points out.

Recalling her initial days when she first came to Mumbai in 2009, Huma says that she went through the usual struggle while giving auditions and clearing screen tests. “For all ad campaigns and all my films till Dedh Ishqiya (2014), I’ve auditioned for every single role that I’ve played on screen, and I look at this with great pride,” says the actor. “People think that it would be cooler to say that I didn’t audition. But today, thankfully, I’ve earned my right not to audition for films and it didn’t come easy.”