Tarla actress Huma Qureshi: To date, my parents do not know how much money I make

Huma Qureshi is one of the many Delhi girls who had a burning desire to succeed in Bollywood and left a very comfortable life behind. Her father, Saleem Qureshi, is the proprietor of the well-known restaurant Saleem's.

In a recent video interview given to Mojo Story, the actress was asked about her parents' involvement in the growth of her career.

Huma said, "My father then told me to give myself a year's time, and that was our deal, and he wanted me to explore. The only concern for him was that he does not want me to be a forever struggler in Mumbai who wants to become an actor. I think that happens to most parents when their children go to Mumbai to hustle for acting. But my parents never came to my film set or shoot. My mother visited me once, and my father was there when we were shooting inside Saleem's for my film Double XL. They do not understand all this. My father came, and he was like, 'Ye kya chal raha hai, ye light, camera...' You know, they are not well versed in this setup. To date, my parents do not know how much money I make; it is insane! They are just happy for me. My mother calls me to check if I have eaten, if I am sleeping on time, and whether I am happy or not. Those mummy things..."

After coming to Mumbai and appearing in a few ad films, Huma got her breakthrough with the film Gangs Of Wassepur, followed by Dedh Ishqiya, Badlapur, Jolly LLB 2, international projects like Viceroy's House, Army of the Dead, and award-winning web series like Leila and Maharani, to name a few.

Sharing the memory of her first pay cheques, she said, Well, it was not a fancy affair, but the film was a huge deal. I watched my first film, Gangs Of Wasseypur, at the Cannes Film Festival. So as a film, it was a success. But when we were making it, it was tough, and I was paid just 75 thousand rupees. Of course, now Anurag and I work, and it's different. But back then, we were just a bunch of people who went to Banaras and shot a film for three months. When it was released, I was blown away, seeing myself on the poster, and felt I should have gotten more money, na? I was lost after."

As her latest film, Tarla, revolves around the life journey of Tarla Dalal, who was a homemaker and went on to become a chef and cookbook author, Huma said one of the reasons she made the film was her mother.

"I did this film for my mom. I feel that my mom is so talented, but she gave up a lot of things to raise a family. I did see her going through a midlife situation where she didn't know what to do with her life—that emptiness. I made the film for her because I felt Tarla was also going through that. I remember when I signed the film, people were asking me why I was playing the role of an elderly woman. But for me, it was a great part!" said Huma.

The film Tarla is streaming on ZEE5.