Huma Qureshi says baby is India’s own action hero: “She had to feel completely homegrown”

While audiences are praising Huma Qureshi’s fierce transformation in Baby Do Die Do, the actor reveals that one creative decision remained non-negotiable throughout the film, Baby had to feel unapologetically Indian.

Unlike other action heroines who operate in slick, larger-than-life worlds, Baby navigates familiar streets, takes public transport and blends into everyday life, making her all the more unpredictable.

Speaking about shaping the character, Huma says, “It was non-negotiable for me that Baby feels completely Indian. There are incredible female action characters globally, but they exist in worlds built for them. Baby has none of that. She takes a bus. She walks through a regular market. She uses an umbrella. That ordinariness is what makes her terrifying, and that is very specifically desi. She had to come from here, from this city, this street, this specific kind of invisible anger that women in India carry and nobody talks about.”