Huma Qureshi

Huma Saleem Qureshi (; born 28 July 1986) is an Indian actress, model and producer who primarily appears in Hindi language films. She has received several awards such as one Filmfare OTT Award, one Stardust Award along with three Filmfare Award nominations. Qureshi obtained a bachelor's degree in History—with honours—from the University of Delhi, while she worked as a theatre actor and model. After working in several theatrical productions, she moved to Mumbai and signed a two-year contract with Hindustan Unilever to appear in television commercials. During the shoot for a Samsung mobile commercial, Anurag Kashyap noticed her acting ability and signed her for a three-film deal with his company, marking her film debut with a supporting role in the two-part 2012 crime drama Gangs of Wasseypur. Her performance in the film earned her several nominations, including the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. That same year, she played the lead female role in the romance Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, and followed it with a role in Ek Thi Daayan. Qureshi's career progressed with roles in the anthological Shorts (2013), the black comedy Dedh Ishqiya (2014), the revenge drama Badlapur (2015) and the Marathi road drama Highway (2015). Qureshi's later appeared in films like Jolly LLB 2 (2017) and Dobaara: See Your Evil (2017). Qureshi made her web series debut with the 2019 dystopian drama Leila and was praised for her portrayal in the SonyLIV's 2021 web series Maharani. After appearing in the Tamil film Valimai (2022), she received high praise for her portrayal in the crime thriller Monica, O My Darling, the same year. Early life and education Qureshi was born on 28 July 1986 into a Muslim family in New Delhi, India. Her father, Saleem Qureshi, is a restaurateur who runs a chain of 10 restaurants (Saleem's); her mother, Ameena Qureshi (a Kashmiri), is a housewife. She has three brothers, including actor Saqib Saleem. The family relocated to Kalkaji, South Delhi, when Qureshi was a child. She completed her bachelor's in History with Honours from the Gargi College—University of Delhi. Later, she joined Act 1 theatre group and performed in a few theatre productions. N. K Sharma was her mentor and acting teacher during her theatre days. She has worked with several NGOs and assisted a documentary filmmaker.