Yami Gautam: Watching or working in a film with preconceived notion is not the right way to do it

Mumbai: A cinema hall is the place where the mind should be completely free of any baggage or ideology, that’s what actress Yami Gautam Dhar believes in.

The actress, who is currently awaiting the release of her upcoming film ‘Article 370’, has shared that for actors and the audience it’s imperative to look at films with a clean slate and not be affected by any preconceived notion.

The past few months have seen polarising reactions from the audiences to films like ‘Animal’ and ‘Dunki’, and the trend seems to continue with ‘Article 370’ given the narrative of the film touches upon a subject that left the country divided in terms of opinions.

The actress spoke with IANS ahead of the release of her film and shared about the trend, her journey in cinema and the role of social media in the modern discourse.

Talking about the trend of polarising reactions from the audience, Yami, who admits that she hasn’t yet seen the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer ‘Animal’, told IANS: “If you’re working in a film or watching a film with a preconceived notion, you will never be able to enjoy the film or your working process. You won’t be able to have a fair opinion on it if your judgement is already clouded.”

The actress further mentioned, “You like it or you don’t like it, that’s absolutely your personal choice and your prerogative, and you must stand by it. But watching a film with an already set mindset is not the correct way to do it.”

Manoeuvring the conversation, the actress then spoke about how polarisation has become a part of the society.

Yami told IANS, “As far as polarisation is concerned, today there are polarising opinions on everything, it’s not just the films. Social media has only added fuel to the fire because that’s the easiest way to reach out to a huge number of people.”

“Having said that, my job as an actor is to chase excellence, bring compelling stories to the forefront, to do good roles and to be a part of good cinema, that is the intention I work with,” she added.

The actress also spoke about her upcoming film and shared that the film delves into the modus operandi behind the abrogation of contentious Article 370 of the Constitution of India.

Yami said: “ ‘Article 370’ is not just about an army operation, the film tells how the historical event of abrogation of Article 370 was carried out.”

The actress has completed almost a decade and a half in cinema having started her journey in films with the Kannada film ‘Ullasa Utsaha’. However, the actress doesn’t set her eyes on the rear view mirror and always looks forward to what’s next.

“I really don’t look back at my cinematic journey and I don’t really think like I have been working for so long. I joined the industry at a young age but today, where I stand, I would say that I’m very happy and I own up to my successful films as much as those films that might not have garnered equal amounts of love from the audience, both are very close to my heart,” she said.

Produced by Jyoti Deshpande, Aditya Dhar and Lokesh Dhar, ‘Article 370’ is slated to release in cinemas worldwide on February 23.

–IANS