I built Huma’s character by combining Bebaak’s Fatin and Harry Potter’s Hermoine: Sarah Hashmi

MUMBAI: Acting comes naturally to this 25-year-old talented actress, given her filmi genes! It’s noteworthy that within a very short span, she’s played soul-stirring roles that require more than just a script! From a small but highly relatable role in Bollywood film Dil Dhadakne Do to the more recent Bebaak, that even got her a Filmfare award, she’s proven quickly that give her the right role, and you just can’t miss her! She says, "I can deliver a good performance only if I'm able to get in to the soul of the character and understand its tonality. And that's something just a script can't offer."

In Dice Media’s Operation MBBS, she plays the character of Huma, a medical student who is highly ambitious and over achiever in nature. It is a web-series that explores the struggles and realities of three first year medical students who get in to one of India’s best MBBS colleges. Through the series, one realises that Huma who starts being the " know-it-all girl" of the group, slowly loses a grip on her identity and how she manages to find her true self, forms the rest of the story. She says, "Huma is neither too bubbly nor too quiet. She's intelligent but there's a lot going in her head. And the script can't tell you how to crack that."

She further says, "When I was workshopping for Huma, I looked for inspiration everywhere - from real-life characters to movie characters, not just in Bollywood but elsewhere too. Finally, during the endless discussions that Amrit and I were having to help me decode Huma, we realised that she's actually a combination of Fatin (from my short film, Bebaak) and Hermoine from Harry Potter! Yes, their worlds collided to make Huma a reality."

In Bebaak, Fatin's character is that of an intelligent but economically vulnerable young woman who's a victim of patriarchy whereas in Harry Potter, Hermoine is a bubbly, deceptively humorous and strong character who’s highly intelligent.

She goes on, "Once I understood this, I actually re-worked on Huma's character, ensuring that she doesn't get lost between the other two leads, who are showing everything through their words and actions. But, Huma's struggle was internal and very personal - Fatin and Hermoine were a perfect combination that helped me crack this role and I couldn't be happier with the outcome!"