Huma Qureshi: each role is like school test

Plus: Anurag Kashyap: no formula to satisfy everyone, Pakistani film gathers film festival praise and Genelia D'Souza has high hopes for Marathi movies.

Anurag Kashyap, Huma Qureshi and Kunal Kapoor. Getty Images

The actress Huma Qureshi has an unusual approach towards her movie roles - she equates them with taking a school exam. "For me, each role is like a test, like how you have Monday tests in your school - that's how I approach my characters," the 26-year-old said. Qureshi made her acting debut in Anurag Kashyap's crime thriller Gangs of Wasseypur, and will star in his forthcoming romantic comedy Luv Shuv Tey Chicken. She will also be featuring in Vishal Bhardwaj's supernatural thriller Ek Thi Daayan. The daughter of a restaurateur, Qureshi says she compares acting with eating. "I consider myself to be a greedy person when it comes to good food and good movies," she jokes. "I want to do lots of movies in different genres with different co-actors and scripts." * IANS

Anurag Kashyap: no formula to satisfy everyone

Anurag Kashyap claims that filmmakers should make films they are excited about, rather than just trying to appease audiences. The 40-year-old believes that since you cannot cater to everyone's tastes, one should just find a project they're passionate about. "There is no single film that is for every audience. There is no such formula," says Kashyap. "[Filmmakers] should just make films they are excited about and then figure out the audience. If you try to cater to everyone's needs, you'll end up making 'khichdi' (hodgepodge)." * IANS

Pakistani film gathers film festival praise

The Pakistani film Josh received a warm response at its screening during the Mumbai Film Festival this week. The director Iram Parveen Bilal, who attended the premiere with the movie's leading lady Aaminah Sheikh, was thrilled with the attention it had received. "Playing my film in [Mumbai] had always been a dream, because it was through Bollywood that I was inspired to become a filmmaker. It's really a dream come true," Bilal told the Express Tribune. The film's screening came a day after the death of the Bollywood legend Yash Chopra; Bilal admitted he feared this would lead to low attendances. But, despite the gloom, he claimed there had been a relatively good turnout. * The National staff

Genelia D'Souza has high hopes for Marathi movies

The actress Genelia D'Souza hopes that her husband Riteish Deshmukh's new film Balak Palak will spark a pan-Indian interest in Marathi movies. Marathi language films from the state of Maharashtra still receive little attention across other parts of India. D'Souza hopes that Balak Palak, which is the first movie her actor husband has produced, will change this. "We are hoping that the film touches a lot of people," she said at the screening of the film at the Mumbai Film Festival. "I sometimes wish that we could get all [Marathi films] to a national audience," she added. Balak Palak, a comedy, will be released in India on November 30. * IANS