Huma Qureshi on her ‘superpower’ for mastering dialects: If I spend an hour with someone, I can start speaking like them

Huma Qureshi is gearing up for a whirlwind of performances that span regions, dialects, and emotional landscapes. Her upcoming lineup — Single Salma, Maharani 4, and Delhi Crime 3 — reflects her ongoing quest to explore diverse characters and challenge herself with every new role.

Talking about the range she’s portraying this year, Huma shares, “This month, I’m playing a girl in Single Salma, who’s a Shia Muslim girl from Uttar Pradesh. Then I play Rani Bharti, a Bihari rural politician. And then I play Badi Didi, who’s a Haryanvi... I couldn’t have asked for a more diverse filmography than this.” Each role, she says, demands not just a shift in body language and mindset but also an authentic command over dialect.

She says, “If I spend half an hour or an hour a day with someone, I can start speaking like them. That’s my secret superpower (laughs!).”At the trailer launch of Delhi Crime Season 3 recently, while speaking about joining the celebrated series and playing the antagonist Badi Didi, Huma said, “Evil suits me (laughs)! On a serious note, I’ve been such a huge fan of Delhi Crime Seasons One and Two that when I got the call to be part of it, I felt like a kid who just got their favourite toy.

What Shefali, Rasika, Rajesh, and the entire team have done with this series is incredible.

It’s an honour to enter this universe and take the story forward. I knew I had to bring my A-game because all of them play such loved and layered characters. It was a lot of fun, and everyone was so warm and welcoming that it never felt like I was a new member on set.”Opening up about playing one of the darkest characters of her career, the actress said, “I think this is probably the darkest and most repulsive character of my career, and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s the worst character I’ve ever played in terms of morality. I’m the ‘best worst’ character ever (laughs)! But I thoroughly enjoyed it. I feel that sometimes, when you play a negative character and people appreciate your performance, it helps highlight the issue even more.

So, if my performance can bring even a little more awareness to the conversation, I consider it an honour to have done this role.”