Huma Qureshi on Tarla: Dived deep into her world, studying her passion and spirit

How can Monica O My Darling's (2022) femme fatale become a soft-spoken home chef in such a short amount of time? Huma Qureshi says that's why she loves her job so much. Tarla, a film on the life of the revolutionary Indian cook and cookbook author Tarla Dalal, is complete. From the looks of the teaser, the actor has become something of a culinary superstar.

She readily agreed to participate in Piyush Gupta's directorial debut because it allowed her to play a character who was very different from herself. Huma told Midday that she loves the challenge of changing into something new. That's exactly why she couldn't resist reading this script. When casting a role, the actor searches for someone she can't possibly connect with. The actor explains that each part has challenged her to grow as an artist, from playing a lady who bears the burden of state in Maharani to playing a femme fatale in Monica to playing Tarla Dalal.

Huma wore dentures and glasses to look like Dalal, so she didn't have to do much to pass. The character's mind was a tough nut to crack. She says the filmmaker was important to her success.

Building a character is fun for her. The actor gave in to the director's will. Together, Piyush and she explored Tarla's life to learn more about her motivations and outlook. His keen eye for detail helped her bring Tarla's life to life in all its richness and complexity, thanks to his direction. They needed to honour her memory properly.

The ZEE5 movie was shot in Mumbai at the end of last year, and it also stars Sharib Hashmi.

Tarla Dalal was an Indian and Gujarati cuisine expert who also wrote cookbooks and hosted cooking shows. She penned a hundred cookbooks, with combined sales of 10 million copies. In 2007, she became the first and only Indian in the field of cookery to receive the Padma Shri from the government of India. She suffered a heart attack on November 6, 2013, at age 77.