Doing fewer films is not a privilege, says Yami Gautam
Yami Gautam came into the film scene with a bang, all thanks to her very successful debut, Vicky Donor in 2012. But the actor has been taking it slow and steady since, and unlike her contemporaries, she hasn’t had a barrage of releases in the past seven years. However, Yami shares that like any other actor, she, too, itches to do more films but things don’t always work the way that she wants them to.
“I am not so privileged,” she says, adding, “I’d love to come on screen more, that’s the reason I work in films. It’s not a very strategic move and it is not a privilege. It is not that I feel like doing just one film at a time, but I don’t like the idea of doing something because you have to fill your calendar. Maybe my contemporaries are doing that and so I am asked why I am not doing it, but for me, if I don’t connect to something, I don’t do it.”
Riding high on the success of her latest film, Uri: The Surgical Strike, Yami admits that it is challenging to find roles that she desires. The actor also adds that besides the struggle to get good roles, being a part of a film industry like Bollywood is in itself very challenging.
She explains, “When your film does well, you have the privilege to choose from a lot of options. But when your film does not do well, then the options that you have get restricted and then, you have to choose the best from those options and go by your instincts.”
She adds that often the film that she chooses may not be the best in terms of performance, but she has to go for it as that’s the “best choice” she has among all the other offers at that point of time.
“When you get restricted with your choices, you have to choose the best from that. You have to take it on. You cannot stop. The pace can be slower but I never stopped working. There, it becomes extra challenging. It is almost like with every film you are beginning a new journey. I don’t carry the baggage of my previous films. Everything is possible if you believe that you have it in you to sustain in this industry,” she shares.
It is not that I feel like doing just one film at a time, but I don’t like the idea of doing something because you have to fill your calendar.
YAMI GAUTAM, ACTOR