Tarla | Huma Qureshi: Actresses are made to feel relevant only if they are pretty and hot

Huma Qureshi has stepped into the shoes of the late Tarla Dalal, a successful chef and cookbook author, for the upcoming biopic. The trailer and actor's look in Tarla have left an impressive mark on the viewers, and they can't wait to see the story unfold of the most iconic chef the country has seen.

During an interaction with Mid Day, Huma believes that one statement sums up Tarla perfectly: "You can cook, but you don't have to be confined to the kitchen." An idea deserving of screen time since it does more than just honour women who fight ageism to follow their passions; it also encourages others to keep going for what they want.

The actor stated that this is what occurred to mothers and grandmothers, and it's necessary to relay their stories. They felt pressured to settle down and start a family. Their children had left for college, and they said to themselves that now nobody needed them. Her mother and aunts have all said this to her. Huma explained that some of them opened salons and others tried their hand at the jewellery business.

The movie, which Piyush Gupta directed, follows Tarla as she transitions from housewife to best-selling cookbook author in India. The film is meant to demonstrate that it is never too late to take charge of one's own life. There's a whole generation of women who hit midlife and decided to start over; that merits recognition and celebration.

The protagonist of the ZEE5 film, also starring Sharib Hashmi, is in his thirties. Huma thinks it's great because most of the protagonists in Bollywood are kids. Pop culture has "pushed" a focus on youth to the point where people believe they are worthless after the age of 30. Such a diet is extremely detrimental to one's health. She quipped that an 18-year-old is now teaching about proper skin care. She questioned them and said, let's see how much they know about skincare when they are 50.

Women face ageism, a form of sexism, daily in every industry. No one but women working in Bollywood could possibly know that. The culture that views female actors as disposable astounds Huma. Female actors are told they are important only if they are attractive. They are not stale papayas that have no lasting value. Creative people only improve with time. Thus, Huma believes that this is the tale they must tell. If one wants others to take them seriously, they must take themselves seriously.