Actress Huma Qureshi launches her debut novel ‘Zeba: An Accidental Superhero’ at Jaipur Lit Fest

JAIPUR: Actress Huma Qureshi made her debut as an author by launching her novel ‘Zeba: An Accidental Superhero’ at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival on Sunday.

During an interaction with the media, Huma opened up about her journey of writing the book, sharing that the initial plan was to turn the story into a film before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted those plans.

“I started the book in 2019. After writing some 10-20 pages, I showed it to some people and everyone said it was a good idea. Honestly, when I started writing this, the idea was to make a film or any television show on it, so I did that thing in that sense. Then Covid came, so whatever plans were there, all were stalled”.

Huma continued, “Then I started thinking of whether shall I write a script on it or turn it into a graphic novel. I delayed enough for me to write it myself. I asked many people to write but they all came back and said that you must write it because only you can write it. And then it took me about two years and whatever I felt at that point I was very much able to express that in the book very honestly so whatsoever I was around feeling I was able to pen it down”.

‘We can all be superheroes in our own lives — we don’t need anyone to rescue us.’ – Huma S. Qureshi

At the @JaipurLitFest, @humasqureshi joins #BeeRowlatt and #AnishGawande for an engaging conversation on her stellar debut novel, #Zeba: An Accidental Superhero. The author shares… pic.twitter.com/afWsu1gRlf

— HarperCollins (@HarperCollinsIN) February 2, 2025

The actress, known for her work in ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, described the writing process as a “cathartic” experience and recommended writing as a tool for managing anxiety. “It was a cathartic process I think. So I recommend that anybody who is dealing with any kind of anxiety must write, it’s a great way to vomit anything on the page”, said Huma.

Huma also reflected on her career in Bollywood, noting how her experiences in the film industry helped shape the book. “I think two things are very important in the life of any artist: success and failure. A person learns very little from success and learns a lot from failure. I think the last ten years of the film industry have been very important for me. I have grown up before you all (media). You guys have seen my success. Saw my good and bad days. Hit-flops and everything. These things help you in learning. I tried as hard as I could to put that thing in that book as well”.

Huma also revealed her plans to make a film based on the book. The actress is known for her work in ‘Gangs Of Wasseypur’, ‘Race 3’, ‘Jolly LLB 2’ and others. (ANI)