Yami Gautam: Bollywood actress Yami Gautam’s remarks have generated a heated discussion online. In a very candid, strongly-worded note, the actress poured out her concern about the “extortion-like” trend in a rapidly-growing Bollywood-the alleged demand for marketing money to guarantee positive publicity for films. After so many months of suppressing her feelings, Yami said she felt it was time to speak up since the very existence of this matter threatens to remould the future of the industry.
Yami says there is a ring of individuals and platforms that have cemented a system in which filmmakers feel compelled to pay for favourable coverage. Should the payments be refused, she alleges that certain outlets will put pressure on these filmmakers by pushing negativity onto a film and doing it even before its release. She states this seems to be somehow bleeding into the realm of normalcy in the name of marketing, which is destructive and an unjust act.
She further notes that this mechanism works both ways: excitement for one project can be bought while negativity against another may be sold. Yami has dubbed this “plague” the silent growth over the last five years.
A call for unity in the industry
In juxtaposition with the South Indian film industry, Yami said that down south this was not allowed, for they were united against many fronts. She urged the producers, directors, and actors of Bollywood to get together and in order to save the industry from great harm.
As the wife of Aditya Dhar, director of Dhurandhar, Yami narrated the predicament of watching honest filmmakers suffer for choosing to block unethical publicity. The joy of filmmaking has been destroyed, she said, by underhanded manipulation, and should be protected by the industry.
Yami’s is truly a cry: let films stand or fall on their own merit and let the audience decide. If this custom goes on, she cautions, the industry may yet face grim retribution that far overshoots bad reviews.
There is something iv been wanting to express since really long, I feel today is that day & I must .
This so called trend of giving money, in the disguise of marketing a film, to ensure good ‘hype’ for a film is created or else ‘they’ will continuously write negative things…— Yami Gautam Dhar (@yamigautam) December 4, 2025
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