Yami Gautam: Certain kind of films don’t define your place in industry anymore

Actor Yami Gautam’s last two releases- A Thursday and Dasvi both released directly on an OTT platform, and managed to strike a chord with the viewers. She’s been around for a decade now, and has a credible opinion about what’s good and not so good in the film industry today.

Ask her one each respectively about the profession, and she quips, “What I love about the profession is how you get to play different characters and by that live many lives. It’s an exhilarating experience. I wouldn’t say dislike, but what I find challenging about being an actor is the lack of time to prep and deep dive into a challenging role so that every time the audience watches a film they don’t feel like she’s done the same thing in another film.”

The 33-year-old gives an example of the above mentioned films. “There was a time I was prepping for both Thursday and Dasvi and it was difficult though I managed to do it and hopefully that hard work is evident on screen but I’d say switching between characters was a challenge and hence a lot of actors decide to do only one thing at a time,” says Gautam.

The industry in itself has been witnessing a change. Debates about nepotism, OTT vs theatres, and more have only led to things being discussed openly. The actor agrees and says though it isn’t as if there’s been no change, but it’s still work in progress. She explains, “I can see it heading in a positive direction. There’s no notion that doing certain kind of films defines your place in the industry. The audience is extremely welcoming, and even the industry is now opening up to the idea that everybody can co exist, provided there is good work happening.”