‘If I don’t use the privilege of a mic and a camera to change the narrative, it would be unfair,’ says Shefali Shah at Expresso

What about you, Huma? When Netflix came to you to play a hard-nosed human trafficker, did you at any point say, no?

Huma Qureshi: I have been a fan of Delhi Crime. So, when Apoorva, the producer, called me, I thought they were offering me a cop’s part. I read the script and it was really dark. Actors often get boxed into ideas by themselves. So it is nice to be challenged, play somebody with zero moral compass who has no excuse for being so terrible. And also a woman doing that — because you never see women as gangsters; only the hot girl standing behind a goon. I thought it would be nice to just play the baddie for a change.

The non-hot girl singing Lado. Scary, that is.

Huma Qureshi: I wanted to do a nursery rhyme, almost. It was my version of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. In my head, I was going to use the opposite of all the learning, empathy and understanding of who I am. So if you are going to sing a lullaby to a child to comfort them, this is how she is comforting them by singing Lado Rani. That was the thought behind it.

Shefali, are you one of those actors who actually decides that if I have to play a cop, I am going to sit and talk to a real cop?

Shefali Shah: So if anybody had respect for me because I am a method actor, I am going to drop that right now. I never went to a prison to study anything. I had the honour of meeting Chhaya ma’am, briefly for two hours. But at the same time, Vartika had to be her own person. And there was a script in front of me that was a solid blueprint. Richie Mehta had taken six years to research and write it. He said, ‘I don’t want an actor. I want a collaborator.’ But, at some point, I let my instinct take over.

Huma Qureshi: I second that. A lot has been said about actors and the method and sometimes it makes for great headlines. But the magical hour for actors is between action and cut. Not before and not after.

Huma, you came into the movies through advertising. Was it Anurag Kashyap who saw your potential?

Huma Qureshi: There was this casting director called Tia. She cast me for this mobile ad with Aamir Khan. It was a four-day shoot in Panchgani. This was by the way, Anurag Kashyap’s first ad. I had done 10 ads. I thought of myself as the Delhi girl, a veteran. So I walked in… I had a lot of make-up on. He says, ‘What is this?’ I said, ‘This is your first ad, this is my tenth.’ Now when I think about it, I am like, ‘What guts’. On the second day he told me, ‘I am making this movie, I am going to cast you’. That’s how Gangs of Wasseypur happened. And I got paid Rs 65,000. That film changed my life, and Indian cinema.

Shefali, what got you into the movies? TV was your first stop.

Shefali Shah: I came into acting incidentally. I was 10. One of my teachers had seen some photographs that my mother had taken. Her husband was a playwright for Gujarati theatre. They asked my mom if I would be a part of that play and I did it. It was based on The Omen. The play got great reviews. Then when I got into college, it had a strong dramatics faculty and I started doing intercollegiate plays. Somebody recommended my name and I ended up doing television. I’m glad I was a part of television when it really held a lot of heart, soul and mettle.

Monsoon Wedding is one of your darkest characters and it plays a crucial role in how the movie pans out.

Shefali Shah: When Mira called me for the part, she spoke to me in Hindi and said, ‘Mujhe nahi pata, you know English or not?’ Because I had done Satya and that’s what she had seen. I read the script and there was one thing that stood out and that was every single woman has probably gone through something like this. After its release, so many women said it gave them a voice. There’s a beautiful line in the film which Naseer bhai says: ‘I will protect my children from myself, if I have to.’ So that is what the film did. It is an important part of my life, creatively, personally and emotionally.

Huma, in Gangs of Wasseypur when you are sitting there with Nawazuddin’s character and your character says ‘Permission to lena chahiye tha.’ Was that your line?

Huma Qureshi: I wish. That’s the biggest fight Nawaz and I have because I made it mine. Even if I wanted to go back in time and rewrite my own career, I don’t think I could have written a better start to it. When Part-I released and that scene became a thing, I didn’t know what hit me. That’s when you understand the power of films.

Shefali, a lot of us will remember that one scene of yours in Dil Dhadakne Do in front of the mirror. It is so moving to see a woman be so vulnerable. What brought you to that moment?

Shefali Shah: Sadly, how many of us have actually gone through it. Of course, she was in a bad marriage but a lot of people, even if they are in a healthy relationship, forget to appreciate (their partner). That’s what that moment is about.

If we can talk about OTT platforms, what have they done to your choices?

Huma Qureshi: I did a show called Leila (Netflix), which was their first, female forward show, co-directed by Deepa Mehta. Working with her really changed something inside me. For the first time there was somebody who told me that I didn’t need a hero. I could be the hero. I didn’t need to wear make-up to look beautiful. She made me feel like I was enough, and a little switch inside turned and suddenly you see the world a little differently.

Shefali, what about you? A lot of your work is on the streaming platforms including,The Three of Us and Once Again. Do you think that theatres are no longer receptive to stories that are character driven.

Shefali Shah: On the contrary, I think it is changing now. I believe that going to a theatre, watching a film with your family and friends, eating a samosa is a culture in our country, like cricket. It can never go away and it should never go away. Having said that there are stories that need to be told. In the ’60s-’70s, there were so many films where a woman was an accessory. OTT platforms changed that. It started giving full-fledged roles, stories that you may not have heard and which may not conventionally fit the box office.

Both of you are getting into production, so will you have the power to shape films and the release?

Shefali Shah: I am an executive producer of Delhi Crime. And I just wanted to own every possible space of the show. Am I a producer on job, on set doing my duties, making the Excel sheet? No. But would I contribute everything I can in my capacity and more? Yes. Am I going to independently produce? No. Would I direct? Yes, I would love to. I have the privilege of a mic and a camera and if I don’t use it to change the narrative, to at least a small extent, it would be really unfair.

Is that something that you’re thinking about?

Shefali Shah: Of directing? Yes, I want to. But I also understand the kind of hard work and money a producer, a spot boy, everyone puts into it. So I need to really know what I am getting into before I dive in.

As a film critic, I wanted to ask you, how do you respond to critiques?

Huma Qureshi: I do read reviews. I guess you are curious about what people think about your work. Having said that, Maharani season was panned by English media. We took it sportingly but by Monday, when the show’s numbers came, it was just crazy and today we are sitting on Season 4. By the time Seasons 2 and 3 came it went the other extreme. Everybody loved everything. Eventually, whether it is a series or a film, the audience is the ultimate metric.

Shefali Shah: Earlier, I used to get deeply affected even if our building watchman didn’t like my work. I wanted to go and hide under a rock and obviously when a critic is saying something about your work, it is even more disturbing but now I can wait. I have seen 98 good reviews and two not good reviews, so I know where it stands. Honestly, art is subjective. Somebody may love it, somebody may not.