Actress Huma Qureshi is all set for 2026, a year that she will own!

There’s something fitting about speaking to Huma Qureshi at the cusp of a new year — a moment suspended between reflection and reinvention, where endings gently blur into beginnings. Few actors in Indian cinema embody transformation quite like her. From the raw, unflinching realism of Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) to the political heft of Maharani (2021 onwards), from dystopian futures in Leila (2019) to glossy, razor-sharp noir in Monica, O My Darling (2022), Huma has consistently resisted being boxed in. Each role feels like a deliberate pivot, each year a recalibration. Now, as Delhi Crime Season 3 on Netflix trends globally, she finds herself being lauded for perhaps her darkest role yet — and she’s revelling in the discomfort. For audiences in the South too, Huma is hardly a stranger — even if she appears just often enough to leave us wanting more. From the volcanic political energy of Kaala (2018) alongside Rajinikanth to the mass appeal of Valimai (2022), she has dipped into southern cinema selectively, purposefully, and always with a sense of curiosity rather than calculation. These appearances, though few, have left an impression — a reminder that her choices are guided less by geography and more by instinct.

Speaking to Indulge recently, Huma is reflective, relaxed and quietly excited about what’s ahead. There’s a sense of calm resolve in her demeanour — the kind that comes from having survived a few creative storms and knowing that the compass still works. “I’m at a phase where I want to surprise myself,” she begins. “If it is too comfortable, it’s not for me,” she says. That instinct has defined her career from the very beginning — from being spotted on a commercial set by Anurag Kashyap to becoming one of the most fearless performers in contemporary Indian cinema — as the industry grows louder and more crowded, Huma’s choices feel increasingly intentional.

When she first got the call for Delhi Crime Season 3, she assumed she’d be stepping into familiar territory. “I thought they were offering me the cop’s role,” she admits with a laugh. “Then they said, ‘No, you’re the antagonist.’ That genuinely took me by surprise,” she admits. It was also precisely what drew her in. “I’d never played an antagonist before and definitely not one this dark,” she tells us. At a time when actors often gravitate towards safer ground, Huma leaned into the unknown — an apt metaphor for the year ahead.

The Delhi Crime franchise carries weight — not just because of its global audience, but because of its uncompromising realism and social resonance. For Huma, joining that universe wasn’t merely about scale or visibility, but substance. “To pull off a third season that lives up to the first two is incredibly difficult,” she says. “So the belief had to be absolute — in the script, in the creators, in the platform,” she explains. That belief, it seems, has paid off.

With the season now trending globally, her performance has drawn particular praise for its unsettling restraint. What makes Huma’s antagonist truly memorable is her refusal to play her as a stereotype. “Roles like this are almost always written for men,” she points out. “Women in crime dramas are usually accessories — girlfriends, molls, background characters.” This time, she was determined to flip that equation. “I wanted her to be ruthless, cold-hearted and powerful. Not a victim. Not apologetic,” she says with conviction. It’s a performance that refuses to explain itself — and that, perhaps, is its greatest strength.

Her portrayal walks a fine, unnerving line — maternal in some moments, terrifyingly detached in others. “She’s extremely feminine when she’s teaching the girls, when she’s touching them, guiding them,” Huma explains. “But when she kills, she’s completely genderless. Violence doesn’t belong to one gender,” she adds. In a year where conversations around representation and agency have intensified, her character feels both timely and radical.

The role also resonates strongly with audiences in the South, where female characters are increasingly being written with agency, complexity and moral ambiguity. Southern viewers, famously unforgiving when it comes to authenticity, demand nothing less. Huma knows that well. “My biggest fear was that someone would say: she doesn’t sound right,” she admits. Despite growing up in Delhi, she trained extensively for her Haryanvi accent. “I worked with an accent coach from Haryana and spent at least a month prepping,” she informs us, adding, “accent work is exhausting because you’re juggling emotion and sound simultaneously.” She also collaborated closely with the creative team on the character’s physicality — from the scar to her styling. “Even the make-up was intentional. I treated it like a weapon — something seductive, something dangerous,” she adds. It’s this level of detail that has become her hallmark and one she seems determined to carry into the coming year.

Though her appearances in southern cinema have been spaced out, Huma speaks warmly about her experiences there. “Kaala was incredible — being part of a Rajinikanth film is a cultural experience in itself and Valimai had such a passionate audience response,” she reminisces. These moments, she acknowledges, have stayed with her, shaping her understanding of scale, fandom and cinematic reach. So will southern audiences see more of her in the new year? She smiles — the kind of smile that suggests plans are already in motion. “Let’s just say, watch out. Something exciting is growing,” she laughs. While she’s careful not to reveal details, it’s clear that her relationship with the South isn’t over. “I don’t want to do something just for the sake of it, but when the right script comes, language is never a barrier,” she says.

As conversations around health, fitness and longevity gain momentum going into a new year, Huma’s philosophy is refreshingly straightforward. “Eat less. Move more — that’s my mantra,” she says. She believes we tend to overconsume — food, trends, routines, even expectations. “Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. Once I understood that, staying fit became simpler,” she adds.

When it comes to skincare, she advocates investment over excess. “Good products matter and always, always remove your make-up properly,” she advises. She follows a double-cleansing routine, prioritises hydration and uses clinical-grade products where necessary. Having dealt with PCOS, she’s had to be especially mindful. “It took time to understand what my body and skin needed,” she says, candid and pragmatic. Her most underrated tip? “Sometimes, do nothing. Let your skin breathe. It knows how to heal if you let it,” she laughs. And yes, she swears by sheet masks. “One a day — absolute magic,” she says with a smile. There’s an ease to her approach that mirrors her broader outlook: consistency over intensity, awareness over obsession.

As the conversation turns inward, Huma speaks candidly about mental health — a topic she believes shouldn’t be whispered about anymore, especially as people reassess priorities at the start of a new year. “Alone time is crucial, some kind of meditative practice, whatever that looks like for you,” she avers. She also emphasises the importance of therapy: “I talk to a therapist every once in a while and I can’t stress how helpful that is.” In an industry that thrives on performance, her insistence on pause feels quietly, yet powerfully revolutionary.

So what does 2026 hold for Huma Qureshi? “Nothing too grand,” she laughs. The calendar, however, tells a rather different story — shoots to juggle, promotions to tick off and, if time allows, a fleeting European escape before she plunges headlong back onto set. “Perhaps a New Year holiday, if we’re lucky,” she adds. “Otherwise, it’s straight back to work,” she concludes. With a clutch of releases queued up for the New Year — Baby Do Die Do, Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups (Kannada bilingual), Pooja Meri Jaan, Gulabi and Single Salma (which has just released on Netflix) — 2026 is quietly shaping up to be a defining chapter in her journey. If the year ahead does turn out to be Huma Qureshi’s year, it won’t be because she planned it that way — but because she dared, once again, to step into the unknown. And as new beginnings go, that feels like something worth celebrating.

Delhi Crime Season 3 and Single Salma are streaming on Netflix.

Email: romal@newindianexpress.com

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