Bollywood Star Huma Qureshi Gears Up For Her Netflix Series "Leila"

The famous Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi is all set to make her digital debut with Netflix web series Leila which explores a dystopian future of aggressive socio-political religious order. The web series is based on Prayag Akbar's critically acclaimed book.

In an interview with PTI, Huma Qureshi had earlier said, “Art is the only way humans keep reminding themselves, telling us and our kids the lessons we had learned but are now forgetting".

The trailer of Leila was seen by many as controversial. Reacting to the response, the actor said, “There have been some comments, mixed comments. But the show is much more than that. Our show is about the environment, the scarcity of water, and several other things. Sometimes dystopia is the very utopia that you are sold. We all are sold dreams and we think, Oh, this is like a great future that we're going to get. But is it really going to be that great?".

"I think being an actor, that is the reason why you do this. You have the ability to not just play different characters, but also inhabit and make believe a world that may or may not exist. It could be another galaxy, time travel or your country set in the future. That is what essentially attracts you to acting. Although we don't have a reference point for what may happen in the future, that's the whole idea of human imagination."

The filmmaker Deepa Mehta, who has co-directed Leila, Netflix latest original series from India said in a statement that Good and exciting stories should touch everyone. She says "It’s boring to have stories of women if they don’t interest everyone. Good stories should touch everyone. Humanitarian stories are far more important than just talking about gender".

"For a series, you have to expand the story to create different characters, situations and yet retain the book’s philosophy. This was interesting since I got to set the tone for the series. What is great is that I was an integral part of the casting. For me, that’s extremely important. I fell in love with Huma and the rest is history".

The show, set in the fictional world of Aryavart, follows Shalini (Huma Qureshi), a mother in search of her daughter Leila who she lost one in a tragic summer. Check out the trailer of Leila here: