'I'm living a fat girl's dream'

Just back from her Cannes visit, Huma Quereshi talks about being at the right place at the right time Even before her first film with Anurag Kashyap releases, she's got three films in her kitty. Just back from her Cannes premiere, debutante talks about being at the right place at the right time

Huma Quereshi dismisses the sultry weather outside while talking about the abrupt showers in Cannes. She’s had a terribly busy week, what with the premiere of her film and all the networking.

Discovered by Anurag Kashyap in a commercial ad, Huma talks about how timing has played a big role in her unbelievable dream debut, her experience at the film festival and almost missing the flight back.

Describe your experience at Cannes?
It was fabulous! I couldn’t believe I was there. Everybody around you makes you feel important. Waise, I almost missed the connecting flight at Munich and had to run like anything to catch it!



From being overweight to becoming the new girl in B-Town sounds like a heck of a journey...
Yes, I was this obese girl once who was a bookworm, a geek and pretty much destined to lead a career in academics. There was no good enough reason for me to believe that I’d be an actress someday. But here I am.

Tell me something about your role in the film?
I’m playing this Madhuri Dixit-wannabe rural girl who is inherently ditsy but has an irresistible appeal about her.

What was it like working with Anurag Kashyap?
He’s super-organic and dwells a lot on improvisation. It’s great to have a director, who trusts your instincts but he makes you work hard, too.



Is he the serious kind on the sets?
No, not at all. Just because he creates dark cinema people assume a lot of stuff about him. In reality, he’s a fun-loving guy and I think he should make rom-coms in the near future. He’ll rock!

Now that you are done with Anurag’s two projects, what else are you busy with?
I’ve got three more upcoming films lined up under different banner.

That sums up to five upcoming films...
Well, I guess I’m living a middle class fat girl’s dream. (smiles) Practically speaking, I was at the right place at the right time. Not to forget that these filmmakers have showed absolute faith in me and believe that I can pull it off.