Yami Gautam
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Yami Gautam Dhar, born Yami Gautam on November 28th, 1988, is an Indian actress who has carved a significant niche for herself in Hindi cinema. Daughter of film director Mukesh Gautam, her journey began not on the silver screen, but as a model, before she ventured into the world of television. She captivated audiences in popular soap operas like "Chand Ke Paar Chalo" and "Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam."
Her cinematic debut was in the Kannada film "Ullasa Utsaha" in 2010. However, it was her role in the 2012 Hindi comedy-drama "Vicky Donor" that truly launched her into the spotlight, earning her the coveted Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut. She went on to impress with her supporting roles in the thrillers "Badlapur" and "Kaabil," and achieved even greater success with starring roles in the war film "Uri: The Surgical Strike" and the satire "Bala," both released in 2019. Her presence continued to grace streaming platforms with films like "Bhoot Police," "A Thursday," "Dasvi," and "Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga," further solidifying her commercial appeal with the satire "OMG 2" and the political thriller "Article 370."
Born in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, Yami was raised in Chandigarh. Her father, Mukesh Gautam, a Punjabi film director and VP of PTC Network, instilled in her a creative spirit. She has a younger sister, Surilie, also an actress, and a brother, Ojas. Though she initially aspired to join the Indian Administrative Service, the allure of acting led her to Mumbai at the age of 20, even pausing her law studies to pursue her passion. She continues to pursue her education part-time in Mumbai and enjoys reading, interior decoration, and music in her downtime.
On June 4th, 2021, Yami married film director Aditya Dhar, and subsequently adopted her husband's surname. The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Vedavid, on May 10th, 2024.
Yami's television career, spanning from 2008 to 2010, saw her play lead roles in "Chand Ke Paar Chalo" and the popular "Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam." She also participated in reality shows like "Meethi Choori No. 1" and "Kitchen Champion Season 1."
Her Bollywood debut in "Vicky Donor" was met with widespread critical acclaim and commercial success, with her portrayal of Ashima Roy earning her multiple awards. After a brief hiatus, she returned in 2014 with "Total Siyappa" and "Action Jackson," though both films underperformed. The year 2015 brought critical and commercial success with "Badlapur." In 2016, she starred in two romances, "Sanam Re" and "Junooniyat," which unfortunately failed at the box office.
A significant collaboration came in 2017 with Hrithik Roshan in "Kaabil," a critical and commercial success. She also appeared in the political thriller "Sarkar 3" and the social problem drama "Batti Gul Meter Chalu."
2019 marked a turning point with her breakthrough role in "Uri: The Surgical Strike," where she played an intelligence officer. This was followed by her acclaimed performance in the satire "Bala," where her portrayal of Pari Mishra garnered widespread praise and secured her a spot on Rediff.com's Best Bollywood Actresses list for 2019. Both films were massive commercial successes.
The year 2020 saw her in the direct-to-OTT release "Ginny Weds Sunny," where her chemistry with Vikrant Massey was highlighted. In 2021, she starred in the horror-comedy "Bhoot Police" and had a special appearance in the Punjabi comedy "Shava Ni Girdhari Lal."
2022 was a significant year, with her performance as a troubled teacher in the thriller "A Thursday" receiving unanimous acclaim, with critics calling it a career-best. She followed this with a role as an IPS officer in the social comedy "Dasvi." She also appeared in the social drama "Lost," where her performance was lauded for its earnestness.
In 2023, she led the heist thriller "Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga," earning praise for her dynamic performance. She then starred as a lawyer in the highly successful satire "OMG 2," which earned her a Filmfare nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 2024, she reunited with her husband for the political action thriller "Article 370," a project she described as incredibly important to her career, receiving consistent praise for her intense portrayal despite mixed reviews for the film itself.
Looking ahead, she is set to star in "Dhoom Dhaam" and the courtroom drama "Haq," where she has been lauded for a "career-defining performance" that combines emotional depth and dignity.
Yami Gautam Dhar has consistently been recognized for her beauty, featuring on Times' 50 Most Desirable Women list multiple times. Beyond her acting, she is a prominent brand endorser for various products.
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Yami Gautam Dhar (née Gautam; born 28 November 1988) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. A daughter of film director Mukesh Gautam, she began her career as a model, and starred in television soap operas such as Chand Ke Paar Chalo (2008–2009) and Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam (2009–2010). After making her film debut in the Kannada film Ullasa Utsaha (2010), she had her first Hindi film release in the comedy-drama Vicky Donor (2012), which won her the Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut.
Gautam earned acclaim for her supporting roles in the thrillers Badlapur (2015) and Kaabil (2017), and greater success came for starring in the war film Uri: The Surgical Strike and the satire Bala (both 2019). She starred in the streaming films Bhoot Police (2021), A Thursday (2022), Dasvi (2022), and Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga (2023), and had further commercial success in the satire OMG 2 (2023) and the political thriller Article 370 (2024).
== Early and personal life ==
Yami Gautam was born in a Hindu Brahmin family in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh and was brought up in Chandigarh. Her father Mukesh Gautam is a Punjabi film director. He is the VP of PTC Network. Her mother is Anjali Gautam. She has a younger sister Surilie Gautam, who made her big screen debut with the Punjabi film Power Cut. She also has a younger brother, Ojas Gautam.
Yami Gautam did her regular schooling, and later entered college to pursue a graduate degree in law honours. She had aspired to join Indian Administrative Service (IAS) as a young girl, but at the age of 20, she decided to venture into an acting career. Though she was pursuing studies in Law Honors (first-year PU Student of law), she left full-time studies for acting. Recently, she has been doing her part-time graduation from Mumbai. She is fond of reading, interior decoration and listening to music.
On 4 June 2021, Gautam married Indian film director Aditya Dhar; and after marriage, she changed her name to 'Yami Gautam Dhar'. On 10 May 2024, the couple had their first child, a boy named Vedavid.
== Career ==
=== Television career (2008–2010) ===
Gautam was 20 when she moved to Mumbai to pursue a career in movies. She made her television debut in Chand Ke Paar Chalo. She continued to play the lead in Raajkumar Aaryyan. Following this, she played her most notable role in television in, Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam, which aired on Colors. She has also participated in reality shows Meethi Choori No 1 and Kitchen Champion Season 1.
=== Debut and early work (2010–2018) ===
After making her acting debut as the lead in the 2010 Kannada-language film Ullasa Utsaha, Gautam made her Bollywood debut in a leading role in Shoojit Sircar's romantic comedy Vicky Donor (2012). Co-starring opposite debutante Ayushmann Khurrana, Annu Kapoor, and Dolly Ahluwalia, she portrayed Ashima Roy, a Bengali woman who falls in love with the titular character, a Punjabi lad from the Arora family, and gets to know about his past after their marriage. The film, which marked Bollywood actor John Abraham's production debut, received positive reviews from critics and proved to be a major commercial success as one of the highest-grossing films of the year with worldwide grossing of ₹645 million (US$3.9 million). For her debut performance, Gautam received critical acclaim as well as several awards and nominations, including the award for Best Female Debut (tied with Ileana D'Cruz for Barfi!) at the Zee Cine Awards, and a nomination under the same category at the 58th Filmfare Awards.
After a two-year absence from Bollywood films, Gautam returned in 2014 and appeared in two films, the first of which was Eeshwar Nivas' romantic comedy film Total Siyappa, co-starring Ali Zafar, Anupam Kher, and Kirron Kher, in which she played the love interest of Zafar's character. Gautam's second appearance that year was in Prabhu Deva's action thriller Action Jackson; she portrayed the love interest of the protagonist. Both Total Siyappa and Action Jackson underperformed at the box office.
In 2015, Gautam appeared alongside Varun Dhawan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Sriram Raghavan's action thriller Badlapur. The film emerged as a critical and commercial success, earning over ₹770 million (US$11 million) worldwide, with Gautam's performance receiving praise.
In 2016, Gautam played Pulkit Samrat's love interest in two romances—Divya Khosla Kumar's Sanam Re and Vivek Agnihotri's Junooniyat. In the former, she played a high-school girl who falls in love with Samrat's character, and in the latter, she portrayed a Punjabi girl who falls in love with an army officer. Both Sanam Re and Junooniyat were critical and commercial failures.
The following year, Gautam collaborated with Hrithik Roshan on Sanjay Gupta's revengeful romantic thriller Kaabil (2017), which tells the story of a blind man who avenges the rape of his blind wife. The film, as well as her performance, received mixed-to-positive reviews, and the film emerged as a financial success, earning ₹ 1.96 billion (US$28 million) worldwide. Later in 2017, Gautam featured briefly in Ram Gopal Varma's political thriller Sarkar 3, the third instalment of Varma's Sarkar franchise, alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Manoj Bajpayee, and Amit Sadh. Sarkar 3 failed to do well at the box office. Gautam's next release was the Shree Narayan Singh directed social problem drama Batti Gul Meter Chalu (2018), in which she played a lawyer alongside Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, and Divyendu Sharma.
=== Breakthrough, success and streaming projects (2019–present) ===
Gautam's breakthrough role was in 2019 when she appeared in Aditya Dhar's military action thriller Uri: The Surgical Strike opposite Vicky Kaushal. Based on the 2016 Uri attack, Gautam portrayed Pallavi Sharma, an intelligence officer. Upon release, the film received critical acclaim, with Gautam's performance also receiving praise. She then reunited with Khurrana for Amar Kaushik's comedy drama Bala, a satire on physical attractiveness. The film opened to positive reviews, with Gautam unanimously receiving acclaim for her portrayal of Pari Mishra, a ditsy influencer and a part-time model. Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma found Gautam "part delirious, part deluded" and felt "there's a gentle unhinged air to her compulsive, sincere artificiality that makes her both fascinating and heartbreaking", and featured her in the publication's list of the Best Bollywood Actresses in 2019. Both Uri: The Surgical Strike and Bala emerged as commercial successes at the box-office, with the former earning over ₹3.42 billion (US$40 million) worldwide to rank as the fourth-highest grossing Hindi film of the year.
In 2020, she appeared in the romantic comedy Ginny Weds Sunny opposite Vikrant Massey, directed by debutant Puneet Khanna. The film was directly released on to Netflix instead of a theatrical release due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics considered the chemistry between Gautam and Massey the highlight of an otherwise monotonous film. In 2021, Gautam starred in the unremarkable horror comedy Bhoot Police, co-starring Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Kapoor, and Jacqueline Fernandez. She ended the year in a brief role (billed as a special appearance) in the Punjabi comedy Shava Ni Girdhari Lal.
In her first film of 2022, she appeared as a troubled playschool teacher (as Yami Gautam Dhar) who holds her students hostage in the thriller film A Thursday. Upon release on to Disney+ Hotstar, it was met with positive critical reception, with Gautam Dhar receiving unanimous acclaim for her performance. Sneha Benganl of CNBC TV18 deemed her performance a career-best and felt she was "equal parts dangerous and vulnerable, daring and conflicted". Gautam Dhar's second film of the year was in the social comedy Dasvi, alongside Abhishek Bachchan and Nimrat Kaur. She was cast in the role of Jyoti Deswal, an IPS officer in the jail where Chief Minister Ganga Ram Chaudhary was imprisoned. The film premiered directly on to Netflix and JioCinema to ambivalent reception. Gautam Dhar next appeared as Vidhi Sahani, a crime-journalist in search of a missing man in Aniruddha Roy Chowdhary’s social drama Lost. The film had its world premiere at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival and released on ZEE5 the following year. Zinia Bandyopadhyay of India Today felt Gautam Dhar "anchors" her character "with earnestness" and "proves her mettle again".
In 2023, she appeared in the heist thriller Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga, in which she played a flight attendant who attempts to steal diamonds on a hijacked aircraft with her boyfriend (played by Sunny Kaushal). The film was premiered on Netflix to positive reviews, with praised directed to Gautam Dhar's performance. While film critic Saibal Chatterjee felt Gautam Dhar was "the one who powers the film along especially when the ride turns somewhat bumpy", Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times wrote, that she "truly nails her part and shines in every frame she appears in."
Gautam Dhar starred as a lawyer in OMG 2 (2023), a satire about sex education in India, alongside Akshay Kumar and Pankaj Tripathi. It emerged as one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of the year. Her performance in the film earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2024, Gautam Dhar collaborated with her husband on the political action thriller Article 370. Set against the backdrop of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, the film features Gautam Dhar as an intelligence officer working to facilitate the abrogation. She described the project as "one of the most important in my career". Although the film received mixed reviews for its overtly jingoistic tone, critics consistently praised Gautam Dhar's performance. Monika Rawal Kukreja noted that "her no-nonsense demeanour lends a gravitas to the film and she lets her action and intense dialogue delivery do most of the talking". The film became one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2024 and was a commercial success.
In Dhoom Dhaam (2025), Gautam Dhar and Pratik Gandhi played a newly-wed couple on the run from the police. WION's Shomini Sen felt that the role was simply a variation of those Gautam Dhar had portrayed in Ginny Weds Sunny and Article 370, but praised her and Gandhi for elevating the script of an otherwise predictable film. She next starred opposite Emraan Hashmi in Haq, a courtroom drama inspired by the landmark Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum case. Gautam Dhar described her preparation for the film as minimal compared to her previous roles but found that the character's emotional depth was unlike anything she had portrayed before. The Hindu's Anuj Kumar wrote that she delivered a "career-defining performance" that combined "emotional depth and dignity [to] masterfully bring the character to life". It failed at the box-office.
== Media image ==
Gautam has frequently featured on Times' 50 Most Desirable Women list. She ranked 12th in 2012, 16th in 2018, 8th in 2019 and 15th in 2020. In addition to her acting career, Gautam is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products including Glow & Lovely, Cornetto, Chevrolet and Dollar Missy.
== Filmography ==
=== Films ===
=== Television ===
== Awards and nominations ==
== See also ==
List of Hindi film actresses
== References ==
== External links ==
Yami Gautam at IMDb
Yami Gautam on Twitter
Yami Gautam at Bollywood Hungama
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