Actress Huma Qureshi admits to being confused after first hearing the title of her soon-to-be-released film, but says she was “blown over” by the script and “absolutely wanted to do the film.”
In “Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana,” the 26-year-old actress plays Harman, a doctor from Punjab. “She is very real, rooted and earthy,” Qureshi told Desi Talk in a phone interview from Mumbai. “She’s not someone who’s going to let anyone push her around.”
The character is a departure from the usually chirpy or the very docile Punjabi girls portrayed in Hindi films, she said. “A lot of girls would be able to relate to Harman. Monisha, my character in my last film (“Gangs of Wasseypur”) was a bit air-headed but Harman is very real,” she said.
Written and directed by Sameer Sharma, the film revolves around an important family chicken recipe and will release Nov. 2. It has been jointly been produced by UTV Spotboy and Anurag Kashyap, and co-written by Sumit Bhateja.
The film has the Khurana family hunting for the recipe of a famous chicken curry, and Qureshi, who plays the friend of Omi Khurana (Kunal Kapoor), helps him churn out various recipes in his search for the famous one.
Omi ran away from home at a very young age. When he returns home many years later in the hope of some monetary aid, he finds that his grandfather’s dhaba, called Chicken Khurana after the famous chicken preparation, has shut down and his childhood sweetheart is engaged to his cousin. Omi realizes that in order to set his life right, he must discover the recipe of Chicken Khurana which his grandfather (veteran actor Vinod Nagpal) no longer remembers. Set in a village in Punjab, the film has been shot primarily on location and in Ludhiana.
In a press release, Sharma says the film is “essentially a story of protagonist Omi Khurana’s homecoming,” and calls it Bollywood’s first film in the food genre.
“We are a country obsessed with food. It was impossible for me to tell a story about Omi’s connection with his family without food being integral to it.”
Qureshi said her co-star is an “amazing” and “supportive co-actor.” “He is always involved at the script and the scene level,” she said and added that he thinks no matter how much one works on a scene, “it’s not enough.”
Still considered a newcomer in Tinsel town, Quershi made her Bollywood debut in “Gangs of Wasseypur.” She also had a special appearance in Michael Winterbottom’s British drama “Trishna,” starring Freida Pinto and Adam Rizvi. Now she has five films in her kitty. “It is not important that I do a solo heroine film,” she said, adding that what’s important for her is that she should do something that her audience remembers her for and connects with.
She will be next seen in Vishal Bhardwaj’s psychological thriller “Ek Thi Daayan” along with Emraan Hashmi, Konkona Sen Sharma and Kalki Koechlin. Other upcoming films include Nikhil Advani’s “D-Day,” where she plays an immigration officer.
“The roles I’ve done so far and the people I’ve worked with till now have all been very good and I’m glad I got to work with them,” she said.
“As and when I’m offered roles, and if they need me to act in a specific manner, I will. I am humbled and grateful that such filmmakers are choosing me for their films. The industry has been kind and loving.”
