Panaji:
For Huma Qureshi working with her idol Madhuri Dixit in upcoming film 'Dedh Ishqiya' was a dream come true and the actress says she never once felt insecure about sharing screen space with the Bollywood diva.
The 27-year-old actress and Madhuri are the new addition to the Abhishek Chaubey directed sequel to 2010 'Ishqiya'.
The film will see Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi reprising their roles of Khalujaan and Babban from the original film.
Huma says right from the time she signed the film till finishing it, she was aware of her part and the makers never let her feel like a second lead in the movie.
"Madhuri is the quintessential heroine of all time. There is a lot of pressure when you are working with her. But, she made it really easy for me. When I decided to sign on the film, I knew exactly what I was doing. So there was no apprehension or insecurity.
"Even on the set, I had a great team, a great director, who never once made me feel that there is some sort of disparity or I am the second lead," Huma told in an interview on the sidelines of IFFI.
"And most importantly I never thought that I was competing with her. I think it is a huge compliment for me that I am starring alongside her in the film. You can't compete with the sun. There can be no competition," she said.
'Dedh Ishqiya' will hit theatres on January 10 next year.
Huma made her acting debut with director Anurag Kashyap's magnum opus 'Gangs of Wasseypur' last year. She followed it up with other multi-starrers like 'Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana', 'Ek Thi Daayan' and 'D-Day'. Though she has not consciously chosen to be part of movies with multiple star cast, Huma is happy to get strong roles in such films and not get lost in a pool of other actors.
"Even in multi-starrer films female characters are not just one-dimensional, there is so much more to them. I think that is amazing. It is not just about the fact that I need to do a film that I am carrying the entire burden on my shoulders. I would love to do a films that is entirely about me- may be a biopic or a historical character.
"But till then as long as I am getting strong roles in multi-starrers like 'Gangs of Wasseypur' or 'Ek Thi Daayan' or 'D-Day', I am not complaining. I will do a female lead film but it has to be the right one," Huma said.
Huma also believes that the stature of women portrayed in films now-a-days has changed drastically and actresses have moved on from playing the arm candy to the main lead.
"At the time of Nutan and Waheeda Rehman ji, there were female centric roles written and they did characters that were so much more evolved and rounded. But in between we lost our way and women were just ad ons.
"However, now it is different. The kind of roles that are being written and the films that are being made today they are far better. Nowadays female centric films are not just about the sad plight of women but they are about celebrating womanhood," Huma said.
