Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 29, 2018)

On Wednesday, Yami Gautam kicked off lessons in pole-dancing as a hobby with instructor Aarifa Bhinderwala. Her first day was tricky and she says with a laugh, “For obvious reasons, you should not have oil on your body when poledancing, but I had just finished my workout and moisturised it well and I kept slipping off the pole. I didn’t think I would be able to do it. I had to clean the pole with soap and water and clean myself as well before I got a grip of things. Given that it was my first day, I was fab!”

The actress clarifies that this isn’t prep for a film like it was for Jacqueline Fernandez, who learnt it for her action-thriller, A Gentleman. “I love fitness and dance and pole-dancing is a great way to work on my agility. I already attend dance classes so this is an added activity that I’ve taken up. Whether I do it on screen is for the makers to figure out but it’s an added advantage,” she says.

Yami also says that working opposite Hrithik Roshan in Kaabil inspired her to challenge herself in dance and fitness. “Once you work with Hrithik, there’s no way you won’t get inspired by him. It’s not possible to reach his level of fitness, but you can always aspire,” she adds.