She may have been featured in television commercials with Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan but for Huma Qureshi it is her recent trip to the Cannes Film Festival that she can't stop raving about. The actress makes her debut in Anurag Kashyap's ambitious production, Gangs Of Wasseypur which has just had its world premiere at Cannes.

Qureshi, who came to Mumbai four years ago from Delhi, talks to Sonil Dedhia about her Cannes experience, shooting for the film and her Bollywood aspirations. You are making your debut in Gangs Of Wasseypur which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival

It is a dream debut for me. I couldn't have asked for a better start to my career in movies. I have always been a fan of Anurag Kashyap's work ever since I saw Black Friday. When I came to Mumbai from Delhi in 2008, Anurag was right at the top of the list of directors that I wanted to work with. I never thought that it would happen in my first film.

What was the Cannes experience like? When we started shooting the film, we never thought that the film would be screened at Cannes. We gave everything to make this film and it's a bonus that the film went to Cannes and was received so well. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that my first film is going to have its world premier at Cannes. It's like a dream come true for me.

I heard that you almost didn't make it to Cannes? Yes, actually I was very nervous (laughs). I was shooting for another film in Mumbai, and in the evening left straight for the airport. My flight to Munich was delayed and I had a connecting flight to Nice. My only memory of Munich airport was clutching on to my bag and jewellery and sprinting from one terminal to another!

Image: Huma Qureshi