For this segment, The Telegraph picked out a couple of our favourite images from Yami’s Instagram account and put them in front of her, asking about the memory/story behind the click. Here’s what she said...
So, this is Donut, aka Saibhang Singh Bhatti. He is my sister Surilie’s son. That’s Aditya and I in our Chandigarh home, and Donut just turned one. There was a birthday party and there were so many people that I wanted to take pictures with the birthday boy, so I told him (Aditya) that in the evening we will do our own little ceremony! And what does he know, he just has to come in his track pants. So, we cut another cake at home and this is the picture.
I’ve been asked a lot about this picture because generally, I’m not the hoo-haa kind of girl. This was actually in Chicago, where Lost was premiering at The Chicago Film Festival and this was the day after that. Everything had to be done in two days. We had half a day to ourselves, so we were like jee lo apni zindagi. In that half a day, we managed to shop, eat, have coffee and take a walk. Somehow taking a walk was also on the agenda, I don’t know how. And while taking that walk, she was like, ‘You’re looking very nice and happy’... so I just went for it.
I was told that I had to be ready by 6am sharp. We would need to get ready and start shooting by 8. There would be around eight changes. So you’ll have to just run, not stand, not sit, not lie down, just run. And when we reached there, we got to know that there was a mistake, now we don’t have two-and-a-half hours, we just have an hour. So, now you’ll have to not run, but sprint and fly! But we managed everything, and this was fun! Dada can make anything happen.
This was just me being aise hi posey. It was a Kodak moment, nahin Nikon moment. And that’s my sister Surilie. She’s got big, thick locks and this is one of the rare times when she’s wearing her shoes, otherwise all the time she would just take off her shoes, whenever she would feel like. Yeh ek jagah hai in Chandigarh called Pinjor Gardens, which is like a zoo and also a picnic spot. And that was a luxury if your parents tell you that you were going to Pinjor Gardens.
This is our first karwa chauth. As a custom, and also because we could make it happen, it happens at one’s mother’s place and so we had it there. And uss din, bahut hawa chal rahi thi, and Aditya, because he’s a director, usne creativity kari kuch. We were not trying to make it filmi at all, and my brother was there holding his thali and just snapped this one.
Yami: That’s super sweet. That is my manager’s puppy and she’s called Zoey. And that is on the sets of the film called Oh My God. It’s a sequel. And I just love pets. Actually animals in general.
The place that we have now in Himachal, you’ve got cows and we’re open now to everything, all the animals. I’m not saying I’ll be really open to a jaguar or a leopard in front of me. I’ve been told they are there. There are a lot of mongooses there. When I spotted one, I just stood there and watched. There are wild boars. So woh sab hai, hens also. I love birds. Yesterday I was caught feeding a crow. I didn’t know someone was filming me. Usually, they take food from the hand. People are like how will they eat from the hand. I’m like I’ll show you. And also at home, in the morning I’m sitting on the balcony, sipping my chai, and I had a biscuit in my hand. A crow came to the balcony and I think he’s hungry, so I just put the biscuit out, and he took it from my hand. I think they also sense your energy, and if you’re calm, they are also comfortable.
Both my parents and especially my mom, I’ve seen them being comfortable around animals. Even Aditya. In Himachal, you have those pet dogs that go from one house to the other and have now become friendly. One has become so big, he looks like a wolf! He’s super friendly with us, and woh humein aise dekhta hai. I think they have a sense of energy.
