EXCLUSIVE | Yami Gautam: 'Everything is for sale today, reviews can be bought, trends can be bought'

Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Pink is a film that’s both brutal and beautiful in its narrative. A film that’s still relevant seven years later. Yami Gautam has made some interesting film choices with titles like URI, Bala, and Dasvi. The duo is coming together for Lost that streams on Zee5 from February 16. And in an exclusive interview with Firstpost, they speak about their respective experiences on this film, the issue of media integrity, and what makes them special in the eyes of the other. Yami Gautam on what she found about herself as an actor with Lost I think I have found another connection with Kolkata, a stronger connection with the city of joy that gave me my first film ( Vicky Donor). 10 years later, life has given me another very important film by a very important filmmaker so that’s what I’ve found. I’m trying to think of a lighter answer but I can’t since there are only sweeter and sweeter memories. We’ll try and make it lighter as the interview goes I think. (Laughs) Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury on his experience of directing Lost It was amazing. I believed in the story, all my collaborators believed in the story. Yami is someone very special, with her, something very special and profound happened. And I wish you watch it in the film. Ek hi to Zindagi hai, you need to find the right kind of people, forget films, but in life also if you get the right kind of people, you live through those anecdotes and memories. What more do you want in life? Nothing else. And trust me, she’s someone really very special, not to me or the film, but as a human being. Yami on her response to the script of Lost I was excited when I came to know Dada would be directing the film. I knew for a film like Lost, Dada would do full justice, and I as an actor would be able to add something substantial. This is what you call the growth of an actor and it becomes very difficult to explain in words what you have learned. It’s something in the mind and it’s something that only I know. It’s not about the performance but the process that makes you grow, so in that terms it was a brilliant collaboration. Chowdhury adds, “When Ritesh Shah narrated me the subject, it’s my job to understand my collaborators since we are making the film together; I’ve seen love in her eyes. I’ve seen that she’s happy and that she has loved the script.” Chowdhury on the response to the film at International film festivals like Chicago South Asian Film Festival and IFFI in Goa Awesome. I was very scared in Chicago because my daughter is watching that and she’s very particular. She loved it and I knew we are there. Even the foreigners, they kept on harping on the film and were not leaving us. It was overwhelming and it feels really good. Yami on watching Pink and the impact it had on her [caption id=“attachment_12143782” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Pink[/caption] I remember the screening on Pink and I couldn’t meet Dada then. Shoojit Da had a kept a screening where there were only girls. It was a very special feeling because it has never happened that you’re in a hall and there are only women. That film is really a journey, you don’t get it in the first 10 minutes and at some point, you’ve also judged her. But the note where the film ends on is done so beautifully, you turn your own perspective. The last handshake between Mr. Bachchan and the lady constable, in a very empowering way if I should say, breaks you, you feel good. How can you justify an incident like this? That’s the magic of everything, of Dada, of writing, of performances, it was real just like how Dada is. There’s nothing pretentious about him. The duo on media integrity and entertainment journalism in 2023 Chowdhury: It does talk about media integrity but I will go beyond. It talks about integrity. Maybe we have taken media as a tool, we have taken a crime journalist, that’s the story. It’s all kinds of integrity. Post covid-19, we have learned we have to take all kinds of responsibilities unless we are dying soon. Commitment and integrity are the two things we always discussed before working on this film. Just like how we should be responsible for making a film, you should be responsible for taking the film forward. If you like the film, like it, if you hate the film, hate it. Whenever I interact with my friends in the media, I tell them to give us promotions but not write reviews that I want. Gautam: It’s a very wide, open discussion. I completely agree with Dada, he said something really wise. The film is much more than just the issue of media integrity, it’s much wider. But yes, it does talk about this huge responsibility we all have. We, as an industry, can’t grow until the media is also with us. Everything has become commercial today, literally everything is for sale; reviews can be bought, trends can be bought, images can be made, and we also have the poor truth in one corner. But the truth cannot be changed and we all are aware of it. There’s a line in the film that says Sach ka saath den ya sahi ka, and I found it very interesting as an actor and as a person. Every person in the media must have come across, at some point or the other, a situation where they thought if they should write this story or not, but they eventually did. For someone, it could be painfully disastrous, so it’s up to you, that perspective. The commercialization of things will keep on going, but there are some people who are going at their own pace and trying to do something good. People should know their truth, that’s it. This film premieres on Zee5 on a Thursday, you just did a film called A Thursday, your life as an actor changed with Bala that also released on a Thursday. Coincidence? (Laughs) I didn’t know this. Thank you, that’s so interesting, I didn’t follow it up. People say you’re as good as your last Friday, maybe I’m as good as my previous Thursday.

Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News,  India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and Instagram.