‘I DON’T TRY TOO HARD TO STRIKE A CONVERSATION’

Actor Yami Gautam, who is selfprofessedly private, says that over time she has come to realise that it’s okay to not socialise much

Slow and steady is the mantra Yami Gautam has stuck to in her six years in Bollywood. With eight films to her credit so far, actor Yami Gautam is happy with her career graph. With two films coming up next — Batti Gul Meter Chalu, which is out tomorrow, and Uri — the actor is content. The same goes for Yami’s private life — the actor also says that she’s not really someone who’d go out of their way to socialise much.

When asked how many friends she has made in all these years in the industry, Yami quips, “Does it matter?” before going on to add, “And even if I did, I am not somebody who will really talk about them. But whoever I have worked with — Hrithik, Shahid, Varun, Shraddha, Mr Bachchan — I have gotten along with them really well.” Yami adds that she shares a strong bond with Hrithik, her co-star in Kaabil (2017).

Being a complete outsider in Bollywood, Yami admits that she took time to understand the ways of this industry. Even when it comes to attending filmi parties, she would initially be the odd one out. Have things changed now? “I was new to parties and I was like ‘Hmmm’. And now, it has graduated to ‘Hey, how are you doing’. So, you evolve and it takes time, and that’s very important but all this, should be while retaining your personality,” confesses the actor.

Yami agrees that the art of socialising takes time to develop, adding, “Especially for someone like me who has been an absolute introvert. I could next sit next to you for two hours and you wouldn’t even know. However, with friends and people I am comfortable with, I am a chatterbox.”

However, by and by, shares Yami, she realised that it was “just fine” if she wasn’t socialising much. “You may not be friends with somebody and stay reserved, and that’s okay. So you, in the most natural way, need to make the other person comfortable, and be true to your personality at the same time. You don’t have to be someone you are not. I don’t try too hard to strike a conversation,” she concludes.

PHOTO: YOGEN SHAH [Initially in Bollywood] I was new to parties and I was like ‘Hmmm’. And now, it has graduated to ‘Hey, how are you doing’. So, you evolve and it takes time YAMI GAUTAM ACTOR