Huma Qureshi has stopped taking advice from people on what projects to pick

Mumbai, Nov 16 (IANS) Actress Huma Qureshi has had a professionally fulfilling year so far with diverse roles at her disposal. While she portrayed a female Chief Minister in 'Maharani 2', 'Double XL' saw her playing a plus size woman smashing stereotypes.

She raised the mercury with her sultry portrayal of the titular character in the recently released streaming movie 'Monica, O My Darling'. The actress is quite naturally over the moon given her slate of 2022, and this is because she now purely goes by her gut feeling on what project to give her nod to.

Talking about how the year has been for her, the actress said: "It's been a great year. At some point in my career, I stopped taking advice from people on what projects to pick up and went with my gut instinct. What speaks to me is what I agree to do. And the love and the success helps in giving me faith that I am headed down an exciting journey."

She said that it's a stroke of serendipity that all these shows or movies have been released in the same year. "Every actor in today's times chases versatility. In fact, that is imperative for an artiste so that they don't get bored of what they are doing. 'Maharani' is in its second season, but obviously the character's graph this time was stronger. She is more confident in her skin and is more comfortable with who she has become," she added.

'Double XL', co-produced by her brother Saqib Saleem, is a deeply personal movie for her.

She further mentioned: "It's about society's pressure on each of us to submit to their norms and rules. And Monica is probably a character I personally enjoyed every bit of."

She said that although the film has a pulpy thriller vibe, it also serves an important message: "One can easily label her as the vamp, but there's a reason the film is named after her. Men who use their sexuality to further their dreams aren't judged but women who do it are easily labelled climbers, vamps etc. It was in some ways empowering to play Monica, to give her layers of kindness and yet someone who owns who they are," she concluded.