Yami Gautam on life after Dhurandhar's success: 'Nothing has changed us'

Dubai: When a film crosses Rs 1,000 crore domestically and rewrites Bollywood box office history, you might expect the people closest to it to be riding a high. But if Yami Gautam Dhar's recent cover interview with Grazia is anything to go by, the mood in the Dhar household is something closer to quiet gratitude.

The film that changed the conversation

Aditya Dhar's two-part action epic Dhurandhar has become one of the biggest Bollywood success stories in recent memory. The first instalment, starring Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Sanjay Dutt and Rakesh Bedi, released in December last year and earned over Rs 1,300 crore worldwide.

The second part, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, released in March 2026 and surpassed its predecessor's entire run within two weeks, going on to collect Rs 1,782 crore worldwide and becoming the first Bollywood film to cross the Rs 1,000 crore mark domestically. Yami also appeared in a cameo in the sequel.

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"The basics are back"

For Yami, the numbers mean something beyond records. Speaking to Grazia, she traced the industry's shift back to something simpler. "It was always a director's medium. It was always script and all those basic things that make a film, a film. The basics are back, so that's a massive shift. We were struggling to get people into theatres and figuring out things. But people thronging theatres tells you, we are ready, we want you to make amazing films, we'll watch and yes, we'll come repeatedly."

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A pivot that started in 2019

She also reflected on her own journey, telling the magazine that the real turning point came earlier than most people realise. "Post Bala and Uri in 2019, just before Covid. That's when I think the shift happened for me. Directors started seeing me in a different sense, that maybe she's trying to pivot." That pivot led to a string of content-driven choices, from A Thursday and Article 370 to Haq, each one building a quieter but steadier kind of momentum.

Unaffected and grateful

On the personal front, the success has changed nothing, she says. "Nothing has changed us as people. That also comes from Aditya and the kind of person he is, very unaffected and extremely humble. I've seen him through different phases, highs and lows and vulnerable phases, but it's not like during those phases we expressed our frustration or let it out."

Both of us are extremely thankful to God. For us, spirituality is very important. Good things happen to good people. What's meant for you may be delayed but never denied."

Motherhood and what comes next

Yami is already back on set filming her next project, Nayyi Navelli, navigating new motherhood alongside a full shooting schedule.

She credits her support system, particularly her mother, for making it possible. "Till today my mother's like, you go work, he's here with me and safe. The reason I'm able to give my 100 per cent is that I know he's here."