In the upcoming rom-com-caper Dhoom Dhaam, a different kind of action ensues as a bride and a groom are chased by gangsters on their first night. Pratik Gandhi plays the groom Veer Poddar, a meek Gujarati boy while Yami Gautam is Koyal Chaddha, a bride who very quickly goes from bashful to all-guns blazing. “It’s quite a bizarre situation. One can’t help but laugh,” says Pratik. “The film is a great mix of rom-com and crime-caper and that’s what made me say yes to it.”
For Yami it was the pure fun she had while reading the script that gravitated her towards the project. “It was great to do a film whose events unfold in just one night,” she says. “Our reference was films like The Hangover (2009). I know actors say it a lot but with each script, we indeed are looking for something new and fresh to do.”
When it comes to project choices, Yami has been very particular. In her previous works like A Thursday (2022), Dasvi (2022), OMG 2 (2023) and Article 370 (2024), she embodies women characters that are fleshed out, a rarity in an industry where actresses are still used as props to amp up the glam. “I am very conscious of being part of films in which I exist and my character is pivotal to the story,” she says. “If my role is such that it can be played by anybody else, I am not in for that.”
Pratik too is playing a different kind of hero in Dhoom Dhaam. He is somebody who can happily take the back seat as Yami’s Koyal goes devil behind the wheel. “Corporate has a word for it, situational leadership,” he quips. “A team might have one leader but another person takes charge in situations where his or her expertise is needed. Moreover, who exactly is a hero? Films have fed us over the years that it is the alpha male. But in real life, anybody who can manage a difficult situation tactfully is the real hero.”
If you are imaginative enough, Pratik’s Veer is like a lost brother to his character Pinku in Madgaon Express (2024). Both are unassertive Gujaratis having a nervous breakdown as they are being pursued by goons. Pratik, however, points out the difference. “Pinku was controlled by his family, Veer is only controlled by his morals. He is the kind of guy who, when he sits in a car, pauses to put on his seatbelt even if he is being chased by gundas.” Being a Gujarati himself, Pratik says he picks up from personal experiences to ensure his characters aren’t stereotypical. “Hindi cinema has always portrayed people from different regions in a certain way. If a Punjabi comes on screen, the background music used to go ‘Oye pape!’. Gujaratis too are played with a certain twinge in their diction,” he says. “I think being a Gujarati myself, it is my responsibility to represent my people in the correct way.”
While Pratik might be playing a timid groom, Yami, after Article 370, is back again in an action role. Although this time it’s more goofy but still as difficult. “I was running in a 25 kg lehenga,” she says. “My hair was going haywire with every shot and I had to tame it again and again in order to maintain continuity. The behind-the-scenes of creating comedy isn’t that fun.”
Like most actors, Pratik also believes comedy is a serious, difficult, business. “It’s tough to judge,” he says. “While portraying any other emotion you get a range. Like I can cry at a different intensity from point A to B in a scene. In a comic sequence, however, the landing time is reduced to a micro second. A joke either works or not.”
Yami adds, “And imagine trying to land that joke in the 11th take!”