Pratik Gandhi on playing a shy husband in Dhoom Dhaam: ‘Have many friends, who are not so-called alpha males’

Pratik Gandhi discusses bringing different shades of masculinity to the screen as he plays a shy yet supportive husband in Dhoom Dhaam which also stars Yami Gautam

Who is a hero? The one who leads from the front, or the one who always has your back and provides unwavering support? Both, says Pratik Gandhi. With this approach, he signed Dhoom Dhaam, which sees him as a shy, faint-hearted Veer in love with a fierce Koyal, played by Yami Gautam. Drawing parallels with bungee-jumping, Gandhi says, “In bungee jumping, the one who jumps is a hero. But the rope that is saving you from falling is an equal hero.”

It’s rare and refreshing to see a man on screen being a quiet support to the woman as she unabashedly takes the lead. On that count, Rishab Seth’s directorial venture offers a delightful role reversal. But Gandhi says he has seen such men in his life. “We don’t always see men fighting or taking the lead. I have so many friends and men in my family, who are not so-called alpha male. But they are alpha in their own ways. They want to be a strong support. Veer is the kind of a man we see all around us—someone who is vulnerable, who is not afraid to say, ‘I have phobias. I don’t want to fight. I don’t even want you to fight,’” he laughs.

Pratik Gandhi and Yami Gautam in Dhoom Dhaam

Even before the Netflix rom-com, Gandhi didn’t shy away from exploring different shades of masculinity —be it as the timid friend in Madgaon Express (2024) or the diffident husband in Do Aur Do Pyaar (2024). Interestingly, he made these choices after breaking out as a confident anti-hero of sorts in Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story (2020). While such a change in career trajectory might be viewed as a risk by some, Gandhi says the time to experiment is now, when he is at the peak of his success. “As an actor, there is nothing called ‘safe’. That can happen in a job where if one PPT fails, you’ll have to make another one. I’ve worked in the corporate world. It was a difficult time to break those shackles of safety and come into the field where there is no safety. I call it a field of experiments. The more I experiment, the more I grow. I want to do something different constantly, to the point where the audience feels that this actor is in the film, we don’t know what will happen. Otherwise, they think, ‘If he is there, then action is guaranteed’ or ‘He will say dialogues in this way.’ I don’t want to cage myself in that.”

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