The trailer of Huma Qureshi’s Netflix show “Leila”, which was dropped online on Friday, showcases the search of a mother for her missing daughter in an imagined world, where there is discrimination.
Pegged as “India’s first dystopian story”, “Leila” is set in the imagined world of “Aryavarta” in which there is great suffering, extreme and totalitarian rules of engagement and fictional extremes constructed around an obsession with purity, communal and divisive societal dramas and grit, read a statement.
The show is helmed by Deepa Mehta, Shanker Raman and Pawan Kumar.
Its two-minute long trailer opens in Aryavarta, a digitised Indian city. It introduces Shalini (Huma), who marries outside her community and has to face harsh treatment. Her fight to get back her daughter, who gets kidnapped over her “mixed blood”, forms the crux of the show.
Huma is seen in most bits of the trailer, but actors Siddharth and Rahul Khanna’s presence is felt too. The trailer is being widely appreciated by social media users, and the film fraternity has lauded it.
Actor Akshay Kumar found it “intriguing”.
“I know which series I’m going to be watching this June…’Leila’ looks so intriguing, looking forward to it! Sending my best wishes to Huma,” he wrote.
Praising Huma for her performance, her brother and actor Saqib Saleem tweeted: “Best thing on the Internet. Huma, this is what we expect from you! All the chats we have had about this show…the trailer has totally lived up to that.”
“Stree” actor RajKummar Rao is looking forward to watch the show, and commented: “This is stunning Huma.”
“Leila” is set to release on June 14. It also stars Sanjay Suri, Seema Biswas, Akash Khurana and Arif Zakaria. The show is based on a book by Prayaag Akbar.
Talking about the series, Mehta had earlier said: “‘Leila’ is about awareness, about paying attention, about looking at the world around us and asking pertinent questions about our future.” Huma, who is all set to appear at the 72nd edition of Cannes Film Festival, thanked people for liking the trailer and showering her with praises.
“When you land at the airport and your phone just explodes with messages. Thank you everyone… So humbled with all the love. ‘Leila’ is special and I can’t wait to share it with you all,” Huma posted on Twitter.
