Although she started her film journey with a clear idea of what kind of roles she wanted to portray, actor Yami Gautam says the “out of sight, out of mind” approach steered her away from conventional choices. The Himachal Pradesh actress made her debut in 2012 with ‘Vicky Donor’ and followed it up with films like ‘Badlapur’ and ‘Kaabil’.
Meanwhile, she acted in some stereotypical hero roles, but according to her, things changed for the good post ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’ and ‘Bala’, both in 2019. “For me, the awareness has always been right from my first film. If I look back 10 years ago, I was auditioning for a film like ‘Vicky Donor’ which may sound completely different from what it actually was… Even then I was clear about what kind of films I wanted to be associated with.
“But your real journey starts with your second film. It’s not about achieving success with a particular film, it’s about what comes after it and how you sustain it. I think that is the bigger challenge,” Yami told in an interview here. Looking back, the 34-year-old actor said she made certain decisions the way she wanted to be seen.
She also says “At the end of the day, it’s like, ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ so you have to do something. If there’s a certain kind of movie coming up, do it. One is like, ‘Okay, let’s do it’. But there’s no fun in it”.
She has now evolved into a very meticulous artist and only considers a project based on the script, Yami said.
“I read the script very carefully and take notes, even for films I’m not making. I share it with the director the way I feel with the writers. They spend so much time writing, so you owe them that respect.” The actor said her failure taught her that there are no “shortcuts”.
“Everyone has to go through ups and downs. There is a learning curve that we all have to go through the difficult way. The hard way is the best way, there are no shortcuts to anything,” she added.
Over the years, Yami believes she’s also come to realize that being a part of something that doesn’t have her heart is the “worst” feeling.
“There are times when you’re not afraid and you feel like it’s okay to sit at home and wait before doing it… Because I’ve done it in the past and it’s the worst feeling.
“You wake up without inspiration and every moment is difficult… So now I am looking at the things I believe in,” said the actress, adding that she has not yet signed any new project and is awaiting the release of her film “Choir”. Nikal Ke Bhaga”.
The film, which also stars Sharad Kelkar and Sunny Kaushal, is touted to be a fast-paced heist thriller. It is directed by Ajay Singh and produced by Amar Kaushik and Dinesh Vijan of Maddock Films.
Yami said she is grateful to Kaushik and Vijan for offering her another exciting role after their widely acclaimed film ‘Bala’ “Amar gave me one of the most important films of my life, ‘Bala’. I cannot thank him, Niren (Bhatt, writer) and Dino (Vijan) enough for literally resurrecting my career,” she said.
“When people didn’t have expectations from me… That time they gave me such an important role and this time they didn’t just offer me something either,” she added.
“Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga” is the story of an air hostess (Yami) and her businessman (Sunny) who are on a mission to steal diamonds to free themselves from the clutches of a loan shark. However, the heist goes horribly wrong when the plane carrying the diamonds itself is taken hostage.
Yami said that her character as an air hostess named Neha allowed her to grow as an artist.”This film is an opportunity that is interesting, challenging, fun, engaging and allows me to grow as an actor,” she added. “Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga” will release on Netflix on March 24.
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