She walked onto the set at the mansion outside of Orlando, looking like a very young girl with her slight frame and big brown eyes. If I hadn’t already known her age, I would’ve thought she was just entering adolescence. This is why she was cast in the role of the child bride in a film where the main character evolves from a meek girl to a powerful force to be reckoned with. 24 year old Salena Qureshi is the only actress who could have pulled off the duality of the the role of Indira in the film Draupadi Unleashed. The film, set in Quetta was actually shot in various locations around Central Florida, including Howey in the Hills and Sarasota.
Qureshi’s character Indira goes from a child to a strong woman in a relatively short period of time because of her experiences. In real life, she could relate. “I was 12 when I started acting, and I got my first professional role at 16. Being in the industry so young did force me to have to mature in a lot of ways. As an actor, you have to deal with constant rejection. You can work really hard on an audition and give it all you have, and casting may not even look up at you. It’s just the way that it is, and it isn’t personal, but it feels personal because it feels like they are rejecting “you”. When you are young and already unsure of who you are, you start to wonder, “Am I bad at this?”
Qureshi had been extremely bullied as a child and theatre was the place where she felt special. She felt that she really needed to learn how to dig down and see what she was made of at an earlier age than most people have to. “I knew that this was what I wanted to do, so I was willing to give up sleepovers or hanging out with friends to go to rehearsals or voice lessons or classes. I made sure that no matter what I did, that I learned from the people around me, and that even if things didn’t work out my way, that I learned something from the experience that would help me the next time.”
When casting was finally done with Draupadi and Qureshi was able to see her new cast mates, she was excited, as it enabled her to work along side such seasoned actors like Cas Anvar, Pooja Batra, Anna George, Melanie Chandra, Azita Ghanizada, Anil Kumar, Saad Siddiqui and Dominic Raines. “Every actor is equipped with their own unique abilities, different perspectives and experiences so it was always exciting to collaborate and learn from older and more accomplished ones.”
Often in movies with strong leading characters, actors often walk away from their roles with a new perspective and outlook. Qureshi said, “By the end of the film, Indira finds her voice and realizes that she is stronger than she ever believed possible. I think leading such a difficult film, my mind, body, and heart was tested every day. I too realized that I’m strong and can overcome anything that is thrown my way with grace and integrity. I learned to use and trust my voice and I give the credit to Siddiqui and Rains. They really helped guide me throughout this whole process.”
In the film, Qureshi had several intimate scenes with her co-star Taaha Shah. She had her first on screen kiss when she was 16. “In Draupadi Unleashed, I was terrified of doing the love scenes initially. But, honestly I was much more comfortable than I originally believed I would be. I felt like they weren’t portrayed in this film in a way that these types of scenes often are. They were more about emotions than about nudity or the act itself.”
The cast and crew were initially surprised that one of the biggest challenges was transforming Central Florida into 1935 India, but soon found that the shooting locations were authentically beautiful to the time period. “Honestly, that is the magic of movies, to be able to believably transport the viewer to a different place and time. It is normally in a studio or in front of a green screen. Some of the huge ship battle scenes we watch in films that look like they are in the middle of the sea, are actually filmed in a man-made shallow pool. When you watch it, you would swear they filmed it out in the middle of the ocean. I believe that this film did a wonderful job in visually taking us to 1935 India, even though it was really Central Florida,” said Qureshi. With the rigorous shooting schedule, she was unable to enjoy more of Florida during the limited time off, but managed to squeeze in this photo shoot and interview in between call times.
“My first role was Mary Lennox in my middle School production of The Secret Garden. I was an extremely shy kid so my mom pushed me to audition to get over my fears and also because I had a pretty convincing British accent.” She ended up getting the lead and finding a home in theater. “Interesting enough, my first professional role was also Mary Lennox in a production of The Secret Garden at the White Plains Performing Arts Center. I really loved the character of Mary Lennox and I feel like I truly understood her and playing her gave as much to me, as I was giving to the role. Her favorite role thus far in film would be Maryam Khan in the upcoming feature, “My Cousin’s Sister’s Wedding” written by Aizzah Fatima. “She was just really fun to play because she’s quirky and a total dork. And I can see a lot of myself in her.”
Qureshi feels that an ideal role for her would be an interesting, intelligent, and ambitious woman that does not need a man to “save her” or as she says, “Basically…a real woman today. One that is unfortunately not portrayed in movies nearly enough.” She feels that women are so often written as one dimensional, weak, and unsure of themselves. “It’s just not true to life.”
Reese Witherspoon, in her 2015 Glamour Magazine woman of the year speech noted that women are, “forced to watch a chorus of talented, accomplished women Saran wrapped into tight leather pants, tottering along on very cute, but completely impractical, shoes turn to a male lead and ask breathlessly, “What do we do now?!”’ Witherspoon then urges listeners to take note how often they hear this line next time they watch a movie. “After hearing this speech, I ended up noticing this same sentence like she said I would, over and over again. I was shocked. We are so much more and have so much more to offer than being an accessory to male-dominated stories.” Quereshi feels like women have come a long way, but would love to see them take it a step further. Her dream roles would be Kamala Khan from the comic books or Mata Hari. She would also love to do an action/thriller movie.
Prior to landing the role of Indira, Qureshi starred in an episode of Girls with Actress Lena Dunham. She has since gone on to star in various television productions such as Madame Secretary, The Socitey, Bull and Tommy since wrapping Draupadi.
“A wise music director once told me ‘Don’t suck’ and my mom still says it to me to this day before auditions that I’m really nervous for.” Her favorite advice of all time would be from her grandfather, who was an actor on broadway. He said, “People are going to try to break you down. Ignore all of them. You are unique. Keep the love in your heart and you’ll go far.”
Draupadi Unleashed premieres nationwide in select AMC theatres in major cities this evening.
For tickets, please visit amctheatres.com
Photography by https://photography.brianjamesgallery.com/index/G0000Jj22IPiVUtw/thumbs
Makeup and hair also by Monique McLaughlin https://www.moemakeup.com/.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6067667/
Shot on location at The Artists Studiohttps://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6666910?source_impression_id=p3_1601070522_o65cV%2BZwmW96xTJv
Actress Salena Qureshi https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5842855/
Wardrobe Styling by Keith Neilsen https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0630889/