As appreciation continues to pour in, Yami has already signed four new films. “It’s the producer’s prerogative to announce,” she smiles when we prod for details. But she’s more than willing to talk about being the audience’s darling and how staying away from trends and formulas has worked for her.

I’m only imagining the headlines out of this because I have no idea how to answer this question. I’m really trying to be so careful and measured. I don’t want to sound like anything that I’m not.

I have, and it’s my audience saying it. So, I think that in itself is a really big thing for me. I’m here because of them and, of course, the belief of certain directors in me when probably not many believed. I don’t go to any award functions, with all due respect to them.

That must be true. There is no denial about it. But if I don’t connect with that, then how do I work? How do I tell someone that I want this opportunity? I’ll work really hard, identify the right scripts and wait for that opportunity from certain directors to take that chance with me, which is what happened in 2019 with Uri, with Aditya (Dhar, filmmaker and her husband). But socially or in terms of going against my personality, something that doesn’t make me happy, or I feel I’m being asked to do something or fit in a system, if that is the system, that’s not me. That was never me. The only way out was work, slowly and steadily. Then yes, awards. There’s a certain section that may believe (in them), so whatever works for you. But the way award functions have been functioning of late, it’s like they themselves are saying ‘Don’t take us seriously’. And I’m not saying it. The audience is saying it now. That means tomorrow, if someone’s there in my position, they will know that both can coexist.

I think we’ll come to that when he reaches that age. He’s too young right now, as you said, and I really haven’t thought about it. But my mother said something very sweet to me when I was expecting him, I was shooting for Article 370 (2024) and of course, the mind of a first-time mother or just any mother... It’s your first baby, you’re working in a film like this, and the gazillion questions! The one thing she said was, ‘If you’re fit to work, don’t worry. Your son inherently will value the importance of being a hard worker, like his mum. So you’ll be very proud. You go for it, you give your best. We’re here to take care of you.’ So I used to literally feel the two of us working in every scene. I think that is going to be really special because I’d be like, ‘You are part of that film, you know?’

Yami: Controversy, debate, discussion — that is not the first thought as an artiste. It’s always how I feel after reading the script. Of course, it’s the powerful story of a very courageous woman back in the 1980s. Today, there are multiple conversations to express what we want, what can be done to make things better. Back in the day, there was nothing of that sort. That woman did it without the intent of making it controversial, but just to literally do what every mother does for their child. How can she provide the best for her children? I thought Haq was a wonderfully written script.

Emraan: There were questions when I signed this film. I have done films of a certain nature. But it’s very important as an actor to do a gamut of characters. That, for me, is growth as an artiste. If you don’t risk things, that’s not art, that’s empty marketing. You do those popcorn flicks that release and are forgotten after the first week of theatrical release, which is fine, that’s part of business. But films (like Haq) are important, too. You want to do films that leave behind a message and will stay in people’s conversations... Haq is not singling out people from a certain community or maligning it. It’s about people from a community; it could be any community.

If there is any other motivation for me to choose the kind of roles that I do other than creative, the whole purpose of being an artiste fails.

First of all, that line ‘Akkha Bollywood ek taraf, Emraan Hashmi ek taraf’ was a masterstroke by writers Bilal Siddiqui and Aryan Khan (also director of the series). That was not the original scene written for me! At first, (my character) was supposed to be at a film premiere, and (actor) Raghav Juyal’s character starts crying as he sees me. But one month before the show’s shoot, (the role) became an intimacy coordinator. Aryan called Bilal, and then I was asked if I was okay doing it. I was like, ‘If I can’t play an intimacy coordinator, nobody else can!’ Shah Rukh (Khan, actor) sir loved the idea, and we shot the scene. There was a lot of improv… Raghav’s crying had us in splits. We didn’t expect that he would go to that level of OTT (over the top)! You don’t know what goes viral and sticks with the audience.

Life hasn’t changed after the show; I realized it’s something fans have been missing, a vintage version of what people had seen. My son, though, is embarrassed about it. In school, they had to facilitate things, either head a certain society or something. All his friends said, ‘Why don’t you become an intimacy coach?’ He’s like, ‘You have ruined things for me at school! (laughs)’

Yami Gautam Dhar has always kept details of her life private. And now, this extends to her son, six-month-old Vedavid. “It’s a conscious decision,” she tells us about the decision to shield her son from the shutterbugs.

“Of course, we (she and husband, director Aditya Dhar) are public figures. But it’s a personal choice; the whole idea is to be protective of your child. Of course, the curiosity is understandable. But it’s like Pandora’s box. Once you open it, there’s no looking back or controlling it. Getting pictures clicked does affect a kid’s psychology,” she adds.

The 35-year-old also confesses that no amount of reading manuals or books can prepare one for motherhood. “You’re literally learning every day. The more you spend time, the more your baby teaches you. I try not to open the internet for everything there is.”

The actor also credits mum Anjali for helping her navigate this new phase. “Thank God for mothers! [My mum] is such a hands-on mother. I keep saying every day ‘I don’t know what I would do if it was not for my mummy’,” Yami shares.

Yami is also all praise for Aditya, who has been making time for daddy duties, despite a busy schedule. “Aditya is in the middle of his own shoot. But whenever he gets time, he comes to meet us; the baby feels the happiness,” she says.

Elaborating on the bond between father and son, Yami gushes, “He is a hands-on father, a burp expert, and Vedavid loves him. The moment he spots Aditya, he lights up! He feels so shy, then suddenly jumps on him even before you know it.”