Yami Gautam faces Big B in Sarkar 3

Her first Bollywood film Vicky Donor which released in 2012 was a great success but for Yami Gautam, it was just the beginning of a new struggle. Her next two movies, Total Siyapaa and Action Jackson, flopped. “There were lots of hardship, especially when your first film is a huge success, the expectations are bound to rise. Vicky Donor was an overnight success. It wasn’t like me and Ayushmann Khurana were launched in a fancy way. Of course, I was very happy but that’s when the real journey started - not during Vicky Donor but after the film. When my second and third film did not do well, it was scary. I went through the phase where I started shying away. I had no idea how to face media. The most commonly asked question was, ‘How do you feel that your movie has not done well?’ No one teaches you how to manage failure or move on,” said Yami while talking City Times over a telephonic interview. She did taste success with Kaabil alongside Hrithik Roshan earlier this year but she likes to believe that she is a self-made girl, “I am a self-made girl. I do not come from a film background or have a godfather in the industry. I come from a small city Chandigarh.  It feels bad when your film doesn’t do well but it is much beyond that. It is not that easy when you are making your career on your own. And when your film doesn’t do well then the opportunities become even more limited. That’s the time when I realised the value of not shying away, embracing reality, collecting yourself and coming out with double the energy. That was the phase where I worked even harder on myself. I concentrated more on my fitness as well, to become the best version of myself. Also, I think magic does happen and it worked for me. I learnt that of course there will be disappointments and failures and one must embrace it all. There’s a difference between questioning yourself and doubting yourself. It is important to keep working and moving on. Things may slow down but it never stops.” Yami is now ready with the third instalment of Sarkar 3 that releases in the UAE tomorrow.  While talking about her character, Yami said, “The motive that she carries in her heart and her mind is that she wants to avenge her father’s death from Sarkar. She wants to conclude her sole motive. The fact that I have never done a role like this has made it  more challenging and interesting for me. I am part of the movie because I have got something very substantial to do and I am not just a prop in the movie.”

‘Kaabil drained me emotionally and physically’
Yami: All the directors that I have worked with, Shoojit Sarkar, Sriram Raghavan, or Ram Gopal Verma have very different approach to filmmaking. I remember Shoojit used to do a lot of workshops and rehearsals. But Ram Gopal was very different from all.  I was expecting a lot of preparation for this role - some reading and physical transformation or watching some movies. I was shooting for Kaabil when I got this offer. I had prepped a lot for Kaabil - physically, mentally and emotionally, a lot had gone into the role and I used be drained at times. Ram Gopal said that he doesn’t want me to prep at all. He said that I should leave everything to him and come on the set. I realised eventually that there was a reason for it as my character Anu comes with a certain mystery hence he did not want me to over prepare for the role.  A lot of mental preparation went into it on how we can have our eyes speak for itself.
 
When Yami met Bachchan for the first time
“Like any other fans, I prepared my list of favourite Amitabh Bachchan movies. In my mind, I was like, ‘I am going to say this and that,’ but the moment he greeted me, I was just smiling and I am sure that I looked really silly. I think that’s because of his aura. I am glad that he is not listening to this conversation because I have spoken about him on camera sitting next to him and he said, “No, that’s a lie.” He has been in the industry for over 40 years and he still has the same fire and passion in his heart for this profession and his work. The love that he has for his work and everybody around him is amazing. It doesn’t happen with everybody. He keeps reinventing himself and surprises everybody. There’s no end to his talent.”
 
Yami on Sarkar 3
“The situation, character and plots are different but that one man, Subhash Nagre, remains the same. He has the same ideals, principles and the power. The main challenge was that both his sons have died in the previous part and what impact that has had on his life. He has changed his home now. For Sarkar series fans and also the new generation who has not watched the movie, they will find absolute freshness in all the characters. There is no connection with the other previous characters at all.”