Yami Gautam, who plays a fiery bride in Dhoom Dhaam, on going through years of typecasting and finally being considered for diverse roles
(From left) Pratik Gandhi and Yami Gautam in Dhoom Dham
Barely a year after throwing punches and beating baddies to a pulp in Article 370 (2024), Yami Gautam plays a fiery bride taking on goons in Dhoom Dhaam. Tell her that she seems to have tasted blood with action, and she says it’s a running joke in her family. “My brother-in-law [Lokesh Dhar], who is also Dhoom Dhaam’s co-producer, was joking, ‘Achcha hai ki ghar pe woh aadat nahin padi,’” laughs the actor.
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Director Rishab Seth’s upcoming rom-com sees Pratik Gandhi as a shy groom to Gautam’s daredevil bride, who rescues her man from the goons on their wedding night. Having been a part of the Hindi film industry for the past 13 years, Gautam is happy to have arrived at the point where she is no longer typecast as the pretty little goody-two-shoes.
Yami Gautam
She shares, “I am happy that writers and directors are now willing to take a punt on me. As an actor, you don’t want to hear, ‘She looks like this. So let’s cast her for so-and-so role.’ I have seen that in the past, and that is okay because it’s also part of one’s journey. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s better that you come up the hard way, own that time in your life when you wanted validation, and then reach here. The less I say in interviews that I want to be versatile, the more I show it on screen. There is no point if [my words] don’t translate on screen.”
Dhoom Dhaam marks her filmmaker-husband Aditya Dhar’s second production. Featuring in a home production is presumably comforting. But Gautam insists she is “the same on all my sets,” neither establishing hierarchy nor expecting favouritism on her home production. One thing has changed though, she admits, since her filmmaker-husband entered production. “You feel even more for the producer because it’s a very hard job, especially when you are starting out. As an actor, you are always aware of [the producer’s plight], but you become even more sensitive when you see it up close. So, the first thing I tell all my producers is, ‘There are good rebates in so-and-so region.’ It’s important that we work as a team. There are certain expenditures that need to be made, for instance, getting good technicians. That shouldn’t be compromised. But there are ways to make the project more cost-effective.”
Recently, many producers have voiced their concerns regarding stars’ entourage and their surging costs. Gautam agrees that entourage costs burden the producer at times. “That can cost the producers because when it starts with one person, everybody else says, ‘You did it for that person. So, why not us?’ It’s a chain. I am cognisant that the budget shouldn’t fail the film.”
Last year, Gautam and Dhar became parents to baby boy Vedavid. As a celebrity parent, she is aware of the public interest and media scrutiny around star kids. But the actor is firm about wanting to keep her son away from the media frenzy. “To protect our son’s childhood is of utmost importance. Aditya and I are very committed to it. As actors, we give leeway to the media, but that doesn’t extend to our kids. The media has the liberty of writing what they can, about how they feel about a film, even about an actor’s personal life. We understand it’s their job. But you cannot battle a parent. I will go all out to protect my kid and I have every right to do that. I would love for you to meet him and bless him. But it’s a Pandora’s box. If I open it, there is no looking back. Also, it has a strong psychological impact on a kid.”
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