Yama Shroff was instrumental in conceptualising the very idea of the NATYA SHODH SANSTHAN (NSS) and has been one of its Core Committee members since inception. She has served as Secretary to the Executive Committee of NSS from 1981 to the present. Under her aegis, the audio archive developed into a significant and valuable repository.

A graduate of the University of Calcutta, she also completed a certificate course in silk screen printing at the Corcoran Art Gallery, Washington DC, USA. She is a trained Indian classical music vocalist, having studied rigorously under Pandit A.T. Kanan and Malavika Kanan, and learnt Bharatanatyam from Manjulika Ray Chowdhury.

She has had the opportunity to work with several renowned directors of Indian theatre, including Shyamanand Jalan, Shiv Kumar Joshi, Sheo Kumar Jhunjhunwala, Bimal Lath, Rajindar Nath, Satyadev Dubey, Amol Palekar, Swaran Chowdhury, Tripti Mitra, Usha Ganguli, and Sohag Sen, among others.

An accomplished performer for over six decades, she began her acting career in 1962. Her repertoire includes a wide range of plays such as Sheshraksha, Chhalava, Kaanchanrang, Saari Raat, Abu Hossein, Pagla Ghora, Evam Indrajit, Kamla, Laxman Rekha, Steel Frame, Ek Aur Dronacharya, Aadhe Adhure, Raajdarshan, Reshmi Rumal, Rudali, The Unexpected Guest, Sonata, and many others. She has been associated with prominent theatre groups, including Anamika, Rangakarmee, Proscenium, and Ensemble. In addition to acting, she has also worked as a costume designer for several productions, notably Chandragupta and Antigone.

Her work extends to television and film as well. She has performed in television serials directed by Amol Palekar and Kalpana Lajmi and appeared in feature films such as 15 Park Avenue (dir. Aparna Sen) and Woh (dir. Buddhadeb Dasgupta). She has also participated in various light music programmes.

In addition, she has translated several plays into Hindi from Bengali and English, as well as scripts for television serials, films, and short stories.

She served as Secretary of the theatre group Anamika during two tenures: 1979–1981 and 1992–1996.