Yami Gautam: ‘Don’t want my exence to be dependent on my male counterparts’

Yami Gautam says her constant endeavour is to make a place for herself in the industry, where her exence is not dependent on who she’s working with or her male counterparts. “If I’m getting work, it should be because they want to work with me and feel I have the potential to perform that character. I don’t want to have a holding in a film working with certain actors only,” Yami told indianexpress.com.
Yami wants people to organically like her work, instead of her coercing them to watch and react to it. In her latest movie A Thursday, she plays a playschool teacher who takes 16 kids as hostages to get her demands met. Though Yami said playing Naina was emotionally overwhelming, she refused to call her a negative character. “Negative is subjective. I’ll say don’t judge the book its cover. There are several layers to her.”
A Thursday also stars Neha Dhupia, Dimple Kapadia, Atul Kulkarni and Karanvir Sharma.
Ever since A Thursday’s trailer released, many are calling it a ‘spiritual sequel’ of Naseeruddin Shah starrer A Wednesday. But Yami disagrees. “Maybe the connection is there because Ronnie Screwvala has produced both, and because of the title or the structure. Why would someone make two similar films when you know the audience is so aware in 2022? I’d request you to watch it as a new independent film,” she said.
Yami Gautam, who has projects like Dasvi, OMG 2 and Lost in the pipeline, said while she was happy that her female contemporaries were headlining projects, she was waiting for the right story. “I didn’t want to make it look as if I’m a part of some race, so I want to do a film revolving around my character. When the time comes, you get your due. A Thursday was an amalgamation of all these factors.”

Yami is exploring the grey zone with Naina. “It depends on how you’re portraying it, what you call glorifying or promoting something. For Naina, there were some scenes where I would just shut my eyes without judging her because I knew the story. Of course, you don’t hear about a teacher doing any such thing on a daily basis. It’s a fictitious story. If ever it is about the actor in you versus the character, it’ll depend on a lot of things,” she opined, adding that once you agree to do it, you cannot come on set with any doubt. “You have to go for it.”
The actor, who has gotten busier after her marriage with Aditya Dhar last year, however states having a husband who is a writer-director is an advantage. Though Aditya doesn’t read her scripts, she does discuss her projects with him to a certain extent. “But he knows the films I’m working on and its story. The final decision is with me. But it’s always nice to discuss ideas. It’s a healthy exercise and we definitely do it. I know the exciting projects he’s working on. As a wife and an audience, I’m extremely excited for him. Sometimes I wish I was a boy and could snatch a part in his script (laughs).”

Aditya and Yami’s Twitter exchange post the trailer launch of A Thursday made fans go awww. Aditya tweeted, “Suddenly scared of sharing a home with you @yamigautam Congratulations the entire team of A Thursday. Can’t wait!” Yami responded, “Hahaha !!! Nothing to be scared of… see you at home soon.”

Remarking how she found Aditya’s tweet “a sweet and quirky way of putting out his appreciation,” Yami said, “When you read something like that, you realise you’re married to a writer-director. He came to me and said ‘read na read na!’ I never ask for his opinion and would want him to be honest if he has anything to say, even if it is a different opinion. That’s how we respect each other’s craft.”

Hahaha !!! Nothing to be scared of… see you at home soon 😜🤪 https://t.co/58HnzTHQJL
— Yami Gautam Dhar (@yamigautam) February 10, 2022
So how’s it juggling between work and married life? “Both of us keep busy. My work is more visible because we are in front of the camera. Aditya is very supportive. I don’t feel I’ve got married. I just feel my home has changed and the family has grown bigger. Yes, I’ve got busier and we’ve not really had time to spend with each other. But whatever we do, I treasure that. I’m very lucky to have a partner with whom I feel good and loved.”
Yami Gautam is completing ten years in Bollywood this year. While she yearned for kids in her debut Hindi film Vicky Donor, she is taking them as hostages in A Thursday. Calling it an interesting observation, Yami said with a laugh, “I feel I just had my debut. I feel energetic and fearless. I was waiting for this time when I get to play varied roles. My job is to make sure audience doesn’t identify me with my characters. Every story should bring something new.”

But how did she cope with the times when she was just playing arm candy roles? Opening up about things not happening as per her plan in the first couple of years in the industry, she said, “Everyone takes their own time to understand this place and what you really want, especially when you’re an outsider. There are so many opinions around you. There were times when I didn’t have a good experience working on a movie. But that was a phase. Today, I’m happy sitting in front of you with this attitude and condition because I’m not doing films forcibly. I’m getting them with my effort.”

Having dabbled in both television and films, Yami stated that she wishes to win the audience’s confidence to the degree that they know if she is a part of a project, it’ll be worth their time. “When an Aamir Khan film releases, there’s an expectation that comes with him. Same implied for Irrfan Khan films, where you knew there’ll be something different. To make that audience for yourself will take time and consent effort. I want to gain that trust as a dependable actor.”