'I Am A Closet Brat'

HER CRAZE FOR CHAI EQUALS HER PASSION FOR THE CAMERA. SUMAN SHARMA TELLS WHAT’S BREWING IN YAMI GAUTAM’S LIFE

- Suman Sharma

She’s the mountain girl from Himachal, who wanted to reach for the stars. Bred in Chandigarh, she came to the industry without a godfather but reserves of talent and tenacity. Her first film, Shoojit Sircar’s Vicky Donor, tackled an offbeat subject and underlined her propensity for the uncommon. Sriram Raghavan’s Badlapur further proved that here was a performer unafraid to walk the path less taken. Prabhudheva’s Action Jackson and Divya Khosla Kumar’s Sanam Re were her attempts to blend into the mainstream, while Kaabil celebrated her sensitive synergy with Hrithik Roshan. After a noticeable performance in Shree Narayan Singh’s Batti Gul Meter Chalu, she won praise for her act in Aditya Dhar’s superhit film Uri: The Surgical Strike,0 based on the operation carried out by the Indian Special Forces. Unusual Yami Gautam surely is. In the restraint she displays as a person, in the quiet confidence she exudes as an actor. And just as she’s grown at ease with the camera, as a celebrity too she remains unnerved by the stalking spotlight. She’s learnt to take rumours in her stride, to sieve the relevant from the ‘irrelevant’ and continue her romance with the camera…

A simple girl from Chandigarh to an actor – how has the journey been so far?

I’ll always remain a pahadi (being born in Himachal Pradesh). I was brought up in Chandigarh. But what Mumbai has given me no other place can. It’s hard to put my journey in words. I started with Vicky Donor (2012). Since then I’ve evolved as a person and as an actor. I’m constantly trying to reinvent myself and break the stereotypes.

How were your early days in Mumbai?