Huma Qureshi is riding high on the success of her powerful back-to-back OTT performances in Delhi Crime Season 3 and Maharani Season 4. While her on-screen roles continue to earn praise, the actor is also making waves for her candid and uncompromising stand on real-life issues. In a recent conversation on The Male Feminist, Huma opened up about the sexism she often faces online, the relentless policing of women’s bodies, and why she believes cyber harassment must be punished as strictly as physical eve-teasing on the streets.
Talking candidly about the types of messages she gets, Huma shared, “There are comments like ‘post a picture in a bikini,’ and I am like, ‘kar kya rahe ho boss?’ It is very disgusting, and it is quite sad.” She explained that such remarks are not harmless or playful but deeply intrusive and demeaning.
Huma said that, to her, the law should take online abuse as seriously as harassment in public spaces. “Mere hisaab se toh jaise aap ladki ko physically ya kahin sadak pe chalte hue tease karne ki punishment milti hai, online ki bhi same punishment honi chahiye. There is no difference,” she asserted, underlining that virtual misconduct continues to infringe on a person’s dignity and sense of safety. She said that people slipping into one’s DMs with explicit messages or posting obscene comments on posts should be held to the same standard as misbehaviour in real life.
The actor went further and urged society to stop policing women for every choice they made. “Main sirf ek basic common sense ki baat bolna chahti hoon ki ladkiyon ko unke kapdon ke baare mein, unke make-up ke baare mein, woh kaise life jeeti hain, kya kaam karti hain, kitne baje ghar wapas aati hain, unka wazan kya hai… unke baare mein please tippani dena band kar dijiye,” she said, calling for empathy, respect, and personal boundaries.
Over the years, Huma has grown to become synonymous with strong, layered characters. Since her breakout in 2012 with Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur Part 2, she has consistently signed on projects that either push the boundaries or spark off conversations. She recently headlined Maharani 4, played a cop in Bayan — which began streaming after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival — and appeared in Jolly LLB 3. In Netflix’s Delhi Crime 3, she essayed the role of this season’s primary antagonist.
Huma Qureshi challenges misogyny, questions social conditioning, and uses her platform to advocate for safer and more respectful spaces for women both on-screen and off.
