Even though she started out her journey in the movies with a clarity about the kind of roles she would want to portray, actor Yami Gautam says the "out of sight, out of mind" approach deflected her towards making conventional choices.
The Himachal Pradesh-born actor made her debut with 2012's "Vicky Donor" and followed it up with films such as "Badlapur" and "Kaabil".
In between, she featured in some stereotypical heroine roles, but according to her, things changed for good post "Uri: The Surgical Strike" and "Bala", both 2019 releases.
“For me the awareness was always there right from my first film. When I look back 10 years ago, I auditioned for a film like ‘Vicky Donor’, which can sound so different from what it actually was... Even then, I was clear about the kind of films I wanted to associate with.
"But your real journey starts with your second film. It is not about getting success with a particular film, it is about what follows after that and how you sustain that. I think that is a bigger challenge," Yami told PTI in an interview here.
Looking back, the 34-year-old actor said there were certain decisions she took as she wanted to be seen.
"At the end of the day it is like, ‘out of sight, out of mind’ so you have to do something. If a certain kind of film is coming, you do it. One is like, 'Okay, let’s do it’. But there’s no fun in it,” she added.
She has evolved into a much careful artiste now and only considers a project on the basis of the script, said Yami.
"I read a script very carefully and make my notes, even for the films that I don’t do. I share it with the director as I feel for the writers. They spend so much time writing, so you owe that respect to them." The actor said her failures have taught her 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 hard way. Hard way is the best way, there are no shortcuts to anything," she added.
Over the years, Yami believes she has also realised that being part of something which doesn't have her heart is the "worst" feeling.
“There is a time when you become fearless and feel that rather than doing this it is okay to sit at home and wait... Because I have done that in the past and it is the worst feeling.
"You are getting up uninspired and every moment is heavy... So now I look at things that I believe in," the actor said, adding she hasn't signed any new project as of now and is awaiting the release of her film "Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga".
The movie, also starring Sharad Kelkar and Sunny Kaushal, is billed as 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 yet another interesting role post their widely-acclaimed movie “Bala” “Amar has given me one of the most important films of my life, ‘Bala’. I can’t thank him, Niren (Bhatt, writer) and Dinu (Vijan) for literally resurrecting my career enough,” she said.
“When people didn’t have expectations from me… That time, they gave me such an important role and this time also they did not offer me something just like that,” she added.
“Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga” is a story of an air hostess (Yami) and her businessman beau (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 very plane carrying the diamonds is caught up in a hostage situation.
Yami said her character of an air hostess, named Neha, allowed her to grow as a performer.
"This film is an opportunity that is interesting, challenging, entertaining, engaging and allows me to nurture myself as an actor,” she added.
“Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga” will be released on Netflix on March 24.
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