Huma Qureshi slams Bollywood's 'hyper sexualised' female assassins in tight-fitting clothes: 'It comes from patriarchy'

Huma Qureshi is currently earning acclaim for playing the ‘regular-looking’ assassin in her latest film, Baby Do Die Do.

Trust Huma Qureshi to challenge the conventional portrayal of the Hindi film heroine. She has done it before with films such as Gangs of Wasseypur and the hugely successful web series Maharani. Now, she is challenging the idea of how a female action star is supposed to look with her new film, Baby Do Die, a thriller about a deaf and mute assassin.

Huma Qureshi in a still from her recent film, Baby Do Die Do.

Baby Do Die Do a step in the right direction

In a new interview with PTI, Huma has said she hopes the film leads to more such interesting roles being written for women. The actor, who has also produced the movie, said the beauty of playing a character like Baby is that she is not outlined and easily mixes into the crowd

“The fact that she is so normal and regular looking and yet such a lethal killer is what makes it such an interesting tale... We just wanted to make a very relatable character. Baby is somebody you just meet in a Mumbai local and not bat an eyelid,” Huma said. “I think there could be a lot more change when it comes to writing better parts. There's definitely a step in the right direction.”

Depiction of femme fatales comes from patriarchy

In the past, including the very recent past, Bollywood films have largely depicted female assassins and action heroines as femme fatales, highlighting glamour just as much as action. Calling it a misogynist way" of looking at such characters, Huma added, “That women have to be in these tight-fitting clothes, hyper sexualised sort of imagery to be able to be assassins. I think it is coming from patriarchy.”

The actor added that in Baby Do Die, the character's disability is her biggest strength. “I think when you think of people, especially women with disabilities, you almost think of it as a weakness; you almost think of them as a weakness. Here you had a hitwoman, who is lethal and is a weapon of mass destruction. Yet, she has a disability that is actually not her weakness; it is her strongest asset,” she said.

Baby Do Die Do, directed by Nachiket Samant, released in theatres on July 3. The movie also features Sikandar Kher, Chunky Panday, Seema Pahwa, and Rachit Singh. It is produced by Huma Qureshi and her brother, and actor Saqib Saleem, under Saleem Siblings and Samant.

Huma's next work

After Baby Do Die Do, Huma returns to the big-budget commercial entertainer with Geetu Mohandas' action saga Toxic. The film stars Kannada star Yash in the lead, alongside Huma, Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Rukmini Vasanth, and Tara Sutaria. The film is set to release on August 26.