Yami Gautam on playing Naina in her latest release A Thursday

Yami Gautam is presently riding high on the success of her latest release, A Thursday. The Behzad Khambata directorial sees her in the role of a playschool teacher who holds 16 students hostage and puts a series of demands.

The actress has been winning raves for her power-packed performance in the film which premiered on streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar on February 17, 2022. This is the first time when she has taken up a grey character and the risk seems to have paid off well.

“The idea was always to keep working, to make a place for myself in this industry and be a part of films that nurture me,” Yami told an Indian publication.

“I want to do parts that give me as much diversity as possible. My aim is that one should not be able to associate just one genre with me. It should never be, ‘Oh, this film is of this genre so let’s get Yami.’ It should be anything and everything.”

The actress, who started her acting career with Vicky Donor (2012), which revolved around the topic of sperm donation, said that she is finally getting to be part of films that start a conversation. “Since last year, there has been a shift for me. Things started rolling in the direction where I could give a voice to my choices. I now have work that I can talk a lot about. I am glad that I am getting to be a part of films that start a conversation. A Thursday is a big example of that.”

When asked if playing Naina was different from other characters she has essayed before, the Bala (2019) star said, “Very, very different... I felt her weight on my body, to the extent that it made me question if I was feeling well or not. Even the walk to my (vanity) van, which was just about 10 steps, felt much longer. I felt very heavy and that’s because of the way I had prepped for this part.”

She continued, “Even in life, emotional weight can feel far heavier than that of weights in the gym. I had really absorbed Naina into my system. Not only did I step into her shoes, but I also made her, lived her, shaped her... It wasn’t easy. It required a lot of mental, physical as well as technical prep. A lot of nuances had to be mastered, it was also important not to overdo things because one can cross the line when it comes to a character like this. I had to find the balance and that took a lot of homework.”

Yami Gautam has some interesting projects lined up for release in 2022. After A Thursday, she will next be seen in Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Lost and Umesh Shukla’s Oh My God 2.

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