Feel confident about shouldering films on my own now, says Yami Gautam

Actor Yami Gautam has a lot to look forward to this year. What particularly excites her is shouldering two films, A Thursday and Lost, for the first time. Talking about how glad she is to have jumped at the opportunities that came her way, she says, “I feel confident to headline films on my own but the nervousness will always be there. It also comes from the fact that I love these scripts, the subjects they are themed on and the filmmakers helming them.”

In 2021, Gautam wrapped up the shoot of six projects. And while it has been tough due to the lethal second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, she believes it has been “one of the most significant years” for her. “2021 went by really fast. It was a disappointing and harsh year for everyone. At the same time, a lot of things changed in my life, personally and professionally,” says the actor who married filmmaker Aditya Dhar in June last year.

With the surge in Omicron cases, the 33-year-old feels now is the time for production units to be practical and responsible. She says, “We’ve crew members travelling by public transport. We’ve to think of their safety. A film set entailing even a tiny room has a lot of people. Keeping that in mind, we need to take calls and follow norms laid down by the government.”

Having suffered staggering losses in the past two years, Gautam says that the film industry is more prepared than before to handle a crisis. “When we started shooting after the second wave, I was in the middle of my third film and it was scary. Now we definitely feel more prepared and we’ve been taking strict precautions which we shouldn’t be taking for granted. We won’t panic now that medical supplies are also in place,” she concludes.