"we can be very harsh on ourselves."
Huma Qureshi has admitted that coming across pictures of herself in the papers every day was negatively affecting her mental health.
As a result, she has filtered it out of her mind.
The actress explained: “I came here to be an actor, not get photographed outside the airport.
“Sometimes, as women, we are very harsh on ourselves.
“The media can be harsh, but I feel more than the media, we can be very harsh on ourselves.
“For me, a very important realisation (2020) was to just be kinder to yourself and not indulge in negative self-talk.”
Huma revealed that 2020 was a time for her to “reboot”. She elaborated:
“It was a reboot in many ways – mentally, physically, in every which way.
“Now, I almost feel like I am starting afresh, and don’t want to make the mistakes that I made before.
“I feel we can approach 2021 with more gratitude, hard work, and just being kinder and nicer to each other.”
Looking back on what she learnt, Huma said:
“I realised that seeing my picture every day in the paper, outside the airport, gym or outside here or there. It is not good for my own mental health.
“Somebody will take a bad picture in a bad angle and then move on, but I will just keep looking at myself.”
Huma admitted that she does not want to think about how she looks when she goes out.
Instead, she wants to remember the “feeling and the mind space with which I went, maybe to the airport or to my home” and “not that somebody else has taken a picture and said something nasty”.
She added:
“I don’t want to spoil my day with it, or get affected by the stuff like that.”
“So, I have really blocked that out from my mind space.”
While not all of her films have been box office successes, Huma Qureshi stated that she wants the focus to remain on her work.
“For me, seeing myself every day is not good for me.
“I want to be known for my work, quietly be at home, spend time with my dog, chill, read a book, go to the beach for a walk.
“I came here to be an actor, not to get photographed outside the airport.”
Huma Qureshi last appeared in the Netflix series Leila.
She is set for her American film debut in the zombie action film Army of the Dead, which also stars Guardians of the Galaxy star and former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista.
The film is set to release in select theatres and on Netflix on May 21, 2021.
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