Rajinikanth is connected to his roots, says Huma Qureshi

Feeling intimidated about working with Rajinikanth for their upcoming film Kaala was didn’t seem amiss to actress Huma Qureshi, but the actor was surprised by the South Indian star’s down-to-earth nature.

Qureshi will be seen alongside the 67-year-old actor for the first time in Pa Ranjith’s upcoming Tamil language action film, which features Rajinikanth as a powerful don living in the slums of Dharavi, Mumbai.“What I found out about Rajini sir is that he is such a spiritual person, he is so simple. Sometimes, you think the person’s image is what he is but he is far from it. He talks fondly about his past, his journey of becoming an actor from a bus conductor,” said Qureshi.

“It’s nice to know that a person, who has seen massive stardom, is still humble and knows where he comes from,” she added.

The actress said that despite being one of the most successful stars of India, Rajinikanth does not show his stardom on the sets.

“I was very intimidated. Even before we started working I was aware that he is such a massive star and I didn’t know what to expect. But once we started shooting, I realised what a simple person he is despite being a huge star.

“The director’s word is final for him and I learnt so much by just observing him,” she said.For Qureshi, the journey of Kaala began after the release of her 2017 Bollywood film Jolly LLB 2, when she got a call from actor Dhanush, Rajinikanth’s son-in-law, who has also produced the film.The actress then flew to Chennai for the narration and fell in love with the story.

“I think Ranjit sir as a director has a strong political voice which comes across in the film, which I personally enjoyed. I like working with people who have some belief. It doesn’t have to be my belief but it feels good to be a part of something which is different from the usual stuff happening around,” said Qureshi.

In a classic Rajinikanth film, there is often little scope for a female character to perform but Qureshi says Kaala is different.

“It is a quintessential Rajinikanth film but at the same time, it is not a film where women are seen in just accessory roles, where you are just singing and dancing and looking pretty.”

“They are doing a lot more from a performance point of view. When you see the film, I promise you won’t be disappointed,” she added.

Though the 31-year-old actor is tight-lipped about her role in the action-drama, Qureshi insists it was a challenging feat.

“I never thought I would be able to pull off a character like this had it not been for the support of the entire direction team as I was speaking a language I don’t know — Tamil.

“The first three-four days were difficult. You struggle with your lines and try to find a rhythm. For every film, you take four-five days to understand the vision. But credit to the team, I felt at home. It was fun and an amazing learning experience.”