Breakthrough (2012–2013) Qureshi was initially scheduled to make her film debut with
Billa II, a
Tamil gangster-thriller, directed and produced by
Chakri Toleti, after surviving an audition out of 700 candidates. Although cast as the female lead, when the film was delayed, Qureshi left the project to honour other work commitments. When asked whether she had any regrets, she said: "I have no regrets. I wish it had worked out, but it didn't. I am not someone who sits and laments over things. I was approached for several other south films too, but the roles weren't what I was looking for". The film premiered at the
65th Cannes Film Festival, and both the film and Qureshi received positive reviews from critics.
Govind Nihalani noted her screen presence, comparing the actress to
Smita Patil: "an earthiness, sincerity, intensity and warmth of personality, qualities that distinguished Smita, apart from the fact that she was a very fine and instinctive actress. Huma is a good enough actress on her own, someone who can stand apart from the crowd and hold her own".
The Express Tribune added: "When it comes to looks, [Huma] is different from the typical Bollywood actors". Following the success of the first part, she reprised her role of Mohsina in the
second instalment of the
Gangs of Wasseypur series,
Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2. The film premiered in the
Cannes Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival with its prequel. It opened to wide critical acclaim, and Taran Adarsh found her "simply fantastic". Both films earned her Best Female Debut and Best Supporting Actress nominations at several award ceremonies (including the
Filmfare Award). Qureshi described
Gangs of Wasseypur as a "life-changing film". That same year, Qureshi completed her three-film contract with Anurag Kashyap Films by starring in
Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, a romantic comedy, which describes a quest for an ancient family dish; Chicken Khurana. Directed by
Sameer Sharma, she played the role of a feisty
Punjabi girl, Harman (star
Kunal Kapoor's love interest). The film was a financial success, and Rediff.com noted that "Huma Qureshi looks right for the role and she delivers a wonderful performance". Aniruddha Guha of the
Daily News and Analysis said: "[Qureshi], on the other hand, is charming as the fiery Punjaban, Harman. Her refreshingly natural acting style impresses again in a role that has shades of her character in
Gangs of Wasseypur". However,
Anupama Chopra found her performance to be "a little bland".
Career progression (2014–2018) For her next feature, Qureshi was cast as a
witch in the supernatural thriller
Ek Thi Daayan (2013), alongside
Emraan Hashmi,
Konkona Sen Sharma and
Kalki Koechlin. Dealing with the themes of
witchcraft, the film was based on 'Mobius Trips', a short story written by
Konkona Sen Sharma's father. It received mixed reviews from critics, but proved to be a profitable venture at the box office. Qureshi's performance was also well received.
The Indian Express said: "Qureshi has just a few good moments, but makes the most of them", while Koimoi noted that "Qureshi has a remarkably pleasant and confident screen presence".
Raja Sen particularly praised the female cast and wrote "The three leading ladies are smashing in their roles...Each plays their given role with frighteningly good flair, and each deserves a big hand." After appearing in
Ek Thi Daayan, Qureshi, along with
R. Madhavan hosted the
60th ceremony of the
National Film Awards, an event presented by the
Directorate of Film Festivals to honor the Best Films of the year (then 2012) in the
Indian cinema by the
President of India. The ceremony was held on 3 May 2013, at the
Vigyan Bhavan during the presidency of
Pranab Mukherjee. Shortly afterwards, Qureshi played the titular character in the short movie
Sujata—released as one of the segments of
Shorts, an
anthology film by Anurag Kashyap. She played the eponymous lead as a young girl who is struggling to come out of the clutches of her tormenting cousin brother (played by
Satya Anand). The film was screened at
Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles before its release and received generally positive reviews, and Qureshi's performance was critically acclaimed and earned her a
Special Mention Award at the ceremony. Her subsequent release that year included the underworld drama
D-Day, in which she was featured as Zoya Rehman, an explosive R.A.W agent with an
ensemble cast including
Irrfan Khan,
Arjun Rampal,
Rishi Kapoor and
Shruti Haasan. During the script narration, the director
Nikkhil Advani offered Qureshi the choice of which woman to play, either Suraiya (later played by Hassan) or Zoya; she decided on Zoya to expand her horizons as an actress. The film was a flop at the box office and received mixed feedback from critics, while Qureshi's performance received favourable reviews; Subhash K. Jha mentioned that Qureshi's acting is "effortlessly appealing and effective." In 2014, Qureshi featured in
Abhishek Chaubey's black comedy
Dedh Ishqiya (2014), a sequel to the 2010 film
Ishqiya, co-starring
Madhuri Dixit,
Arshad Warsi and
Naseeruddin Shah.
Dedh Ishqiya was a commercial success, earning ₹270 million (US$4.1 million) in India and abroad and Qureshi received praise for her portrayal of the promiscuous companion of a
con woman (played by Dixit). In a 5-star review,
Raja Sen commented that "Qureshi uses her fiercely intelligent eyes to great effect", whilst Mohar Basu agreed, saying that "Huma Qureshi is brilliant and confident. The actress has in her the vivacious energy that proves her talent." Qureshi's last appearance of 2014 was Rochak Kohli's music video "Mitti Di Khusboo" with
Ayushmann Khurrana.
India Today noted: "The chemistry the two Ayushmann and Huma share onscreen has the raw flavor of the countryside romance". , 2018 The following year, Qureshi appeared as a prostitute in
Sriram Raghavan's crime thriller
Badlapur, alongside
Varun Dhawan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Raja Sen praised her acting and wrote that she "is hauntingly good as a call-girl". The film was a commercial success, and Qureshi received the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress nomination.
Umesh Kulkarni's
Marathi film
Highway marked her debut in Marathi cinema. It received mixed reviews from critics, and proved to be a moderate box office success. The same year, she acted in the collaborative film
X: Past Is Present. It was directed by a team of eleven filmmakers with Qureshi appearing in "Knot", a segment directed by film critic Raja Sen, where she appeared alongside
Anshuman Jha. 2016 marked the debut of Qureshi in
Malayalam cinema with
White. She starred in dual roles in the film alongside
Mammootty. The film opened to generally negative reviews from critics. Qureshi's first release of 2017 was the courtroom comedy drama
Jolly LLB 2, where she appeared alongside
Akshay Kumar. A sequel to the 2013 film
Jolly LLB, the film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office success. Her next film was
Gurinder Chadha's British-Indian historical drama ''
Viceroy's House''. The film follows the story of
Viceroy's House in 1947 during the
partition of India and was screened at the
67th Berlin International Film Festival. She then appeared along with her brother Saqib Saleem in
Prawaal Raman's horror film
Dobaara: See Your Evil (2017), a remake of
Mike Flanagan's Hollywood flick
Oculus (2013). Flanagan also served as the executive producer of the film. Qureshi starred opposite
Rajinikanth in the Tamil language film
Kaala. It was released on 7 June 2018. In 2018 she also became the judge of the reality show
India's Best Dramebaaz.
Career expansion (2019–present) In 2019, Qureshi played the title character in the
Netflix dystopian series
Leila, based on the
novel of the same name. Directed by
Deepa Mehta, Shanker Raman and
Pawan Kumar, the series premiered on 14 June 2019 to mostly positive review from critics with particular praise for Qureshi's performance. Hiba Beg of
The Quint felt that Qureshi's "raw presence in the show is as real as it gets on screen." In 2021 she also featured in web series
Maharani in which she played the role of Rani Bharti which was also received very well by critics and for that she received the Filmfare OTT award. Later the year. she completed an American film
Army of the Dead which was her Hollywood debut. She also returned to TV and hosted the reality show
Fit Fab Feast in Zee Cafe. After that she featured in Akshay Kumar's film
Bell Bottom and done a second Tamil film
Valimai. In 2022 she did her third web series
Mithya which was the remake of the British series
Cheat. She was also seen in
Monica, O My Darling and
Double XL in 2022. In April 2022, Qureshi signed to play chef
Tarla Dalal in her biopic. It is produced by Ronnie Screwvala,
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and
Nitesh Tiwari, and directed by
Piyush Gupta. == Personal life ==