Huma Qureshi addresses reports of Maharani being based on Rabri Devi

Huma Qureshi has reacted to reports of her upcoming web series Maharani being inspired by Rabri Devi, the wife of former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav. Refuting rumours, the actor has said that the show is a work of fiction.

Hyderabad: Actor Huma Qureshi, who is gearing up for the release of her series Maharani, has opened up on her character in the show being inspired by Rabri Devi, the former Chief Minister of Bihar. Huma plays a docile village woman who is handpicked to become the chief minister of Bihar in her upcoming web series Maharani. Calling her character of Rani Bharti in the Bihar-set series the "role of a lifetime", Qureshi said writers and creators must come up with more well-rounded parts for female protagonists.

The story explores themes of patriarchy, something that women have to face every day and in every field, the actor said. "Patriarchy is something that women have to deal with irrespective, it is there in the world, it has nothing to do with entertainment or politics or business."

Qureshi said she gravitates towards "complex characters" and she found one in Rani. "She is a village woman, uneducated, illiterate, never travelled outside her village so she has all these things going against her. But she is also a little aspirational because she wants to take you on this journey like what would you do if you were a chief minister for a day?'

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Maharani is rumoured to be inspired by Rabri Devi, the wife of former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav, who had assumed the chief ministership after he quit following an uproar over fodder scam in the 1990s. But Qureshi maintained that the show is a work of fiction.

"It is not inspired by any real life politician or anything. It is completely fiction. Just because it is Bihar, people have made assumptions. Our show is completely a work of fiction and so there were no references to look at," she said.

The series, slated to start streaming on SonyLIV from Friday, is created by Subhash Kapoor, who previously directed the actor in Jolly LLB. Karan Sharma is the director. Maharani also stars Amit Sial, Sohum Shah and Vineet Kumar in pivotal roles.