“I came here to be an actor, not to get photographed outside the airport,” says actor Huma S Qureshi, who confesses that coming across pictures of herself in the papers every day was not doing any good to her mental health.

“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 [last year] was to just be kinder to yourself and not indulge in negative self-talk,” admits Qureshi.

She shares that 2020 gave her time to “reboot” and explains, “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 I made before. I feel we can approach 2021 with more gratitude, hard work, and just be kinder and nicer to each other.”

Reflecting back on her learnings, the 34-year-old, who hails from Delhi, says, “I realised that seeing my picture everyday in the papers, 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.”

The actor, who doesn’t shy away from speaking her mind, adds that she doesn’t want to think about how she looks when she goes out, instead 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”.

“I don’t want to spoil my day with it, or get affected by stuff like that. So, I have really blocked that out of my mind,” admits Qureshi, who has done films such as Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012), Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana (2012), Ek Thi Daayan (2013), Dedh Ishqiya (2014), Jolly LLB 2 (2017), and Kaala (2018). Some films might have missed hitting the right spot at the box office, but she made the all right noises.

The actor wants the focus to remain on her work. “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,” says Qureshi, who was last seen in a lifestyle show and is awaiting the release of her Hollywood debut, Army Of The Dead, as well as the Hindi film, Bellbottom.