Yami Gautam reveals she was ready to quit Bollywood before Uri's success, favouritism left her ‘hurt’

Yami Gautam revealed she nearly quit acting due to limited opportunities after her debut in Vicky Donor.

Yami Gautam recently admitted that she almost quit the Hindi film industry just before starring in Vicky Kaushal-led Uri: The Surgical Strike. In a recent interaction, the actor revealed that she did not receive meaningful opportunities for several years after making her debut with Vicky Donor in 2012. Disheartened by the lack of substantial roles, Yami said she had decided to quit acting and move back to her home in Himachal Pradesh.

Actor Yami Gautam on almost quitting acting.

'Had made peace with leaving the industry'

In a recent interaction, Yami shared that despite the success of her debut film, many considered her launch in the industry "unconventional" because she "hadn't been introduced as the typical heroine." She admitted that this perception affected her career. After years of waiting for a meaningful opportunity, Yami had almost given up on acting when she landed Uri: The Surgical Strike in 2019, a film that went on to change the trajectory of her career.

Speaking to Filmfare, she said, “Just before Uri and Bala, I had made peace with leaving the industry altogether. I thought I'd return to Himachal. We have farmland there. I imagined beginning a completely different life. My parents were incredibly supportive. They simply said, 'Come home.' And strangely, the moment I stopped clinging to the industry out of fear, everything changed. Uri happened. Bala happened. Life changed almost overnight.”

The same year, Uri: The Surgical Strike, directed by her now-husband Aditya Dhar, and Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Bala were both released. Both films were big commercial successes.

Yami on star kids getting multiple opportunities

During the interaction, Yami also opened up about the challenges she faced as an outsider in the film industry, where star kids often receive multiple opportunities and room to grow as actors despite setbacks, while outsiders have to struggle even for a single chance.

She said, “The difficult part wasn't being an outsider. It was constantly having to prove yourself. Sometimes you'd feel you were ready for a particular opportunity, yet someone else would receive repeated chances simply because they already belonged to the ecosystem. You'd think, If I were given that many opportunities, wouldn't I also continue growing as an actor? That was the real frustration. But I genuinely believe things have changed. Today, audiences don't care where you come from. They care whether you're a good actor. Whether your films are worth watching. Whether they trust your choices. That gives me tremendous hope for the next generation.”

Yami also admitted that she was "hurt" by the favouritism she witnessed in the industry. She recalled how conversations around potential films would suddenly stop without any explanation, and opportunities she had hoped for would quietly slip away.