Gautami Tadimalla (born 2 July 1969), known mononymously as Gautami, is an Indian actress and politician who has worked mainly in Tamil and Telugu, in addition to Malayalam, Hindi, and Kannada films. She was one of the leading South Indian actresses from 1987 to 1998. She is also a television actress, television host, the founder of Life Again Foundation, and a costume designer.[1][2]
Gautami | |
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![]() Gautami in 2013 | |
Born | Gautami Tadimalla (1969-07-02) 2 July 1969 (age 53) Nidadavole, East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, India |
Alma mater | GITAM University, Visakhapatnam |
Occupation |
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Years active | 1987 – 1998 2003 – present |
Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party 1997 - present |
Spouse | Sandeep Bhatia
(m. 1998; div. 1999) |
Partner(s) | Kamal Haasan (2004–2016) |
Children | 1 |
Website | gautamitadimalla |
Gautami was born in Nidadavole, Andhra Pradesh to T. R. Seshagiri Rao and Vasundhara Devi. Her father was a pioneering radiation oncologist and her mother was a pathologist and diagnostician. Gautami attended Bishop Cotton Girls' School, Bangalore.[3]
Gautami married Sandeep Bhatia, a businessman, in 1998, and the couple have a daughter, Subbulakshmi born in 1999. They later got divorced in 1999.
Gautami was in a relationship with actor Kamal Haasan from 2004 till 2016. In 2016, Gautami had announced on her blog that she had ended her relationship with him.[4] Gautami wrote on her blog: "It is heartbreaking for me to have to say today that I and Mr. Haasan are no longer together. After almost 13 years together, it has been one of the most devastating decisions that I have ever had to make in my life".[5]
She was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 35,[6] and had recovered later.[7][8][9]
She was introduced to Tamil film industry through Guru Shishyan (1988), a film that starred Rajinikanth and Prabhu.[1] She was most active in Tamil cinema from 1987 to 1998 and was a tough competitor to the other heroines of her time, Khushbu, Revathy, Amala and Bhanupriya. Gautami went to GITAM University in Visakhapatnam to pursue engineering. Gautami made her debut in Telugu with the film Dayamayudu (1987). that was produced by her cousin.[1][10] She then appeared in films like Srinivasa Kalyanam with Venkatesh and Bhanupriya.[citation needed]. Her notable performances in Malayalam films include His Highness Abdullah (1990) with Mohanlal, Daddy (1992) with Arvind Swami, Dhruvam (1993) with Mammootty and Ayalathe Adheham (1993) with Jayaram. Her role in Sukrutham (1994) was penned by the writer M. T. Vasudevan Nair. She has acted also in Kannada films Elu Suttina Kote (1987), Chikkejamanru (1992), Cheluva (1997), and in the Hindi movies, Pyar Hua Chori Chori (1991), Aadmi (1993), Janta Ki Adalat (1994), Trimurti (1995), Dhaal (1997) and Haiwan (1998).[citation needed]. Her notable Tamil movies like Apoorva Sagodharargal (1989), Raja Chinna Roja (1989), Panakkaran (1990), Ooru Vittu Ooru Vanthu (1990), Namma Ooru Poovatha (1990), Dharma Durai (1991), Nee Pathi Naan Pathi (1991), Rickshaw Mama (1992), Thevar Magan (1992), Honest Raj (1994), Nammavar (1994), Kuruthipunal (1995) as well as Mani Ratnam's Iruvar (1997). She had a good chemistry with all superstars of Tamil cinema like Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. She was very much content to do all glamour roles mostly with Kamal Haasan. But she was equally at ease when she was paired with R. Sarathkumar, Sathyaraj or Prabhu.[citation needed] She made a guest appearance in the song "Chikku Bukku Railu" with Prabhu Deva in the film Gentleman (1993).[1] Her film Sasanam, featuring Arvind Swami, released in 2006, but it was shot in 1996.[11] She played the lead in the Tamil serial Indira. She had hosted a talk show in Sun TV titled Anbudan.[10] She acted in the serial Abirami which was telecast on Kalaignar TV.[12] She made a comeback to the film industry in the late 2000s as a costume designer for films starring her partner Kamal Haasan. She won the Vijay Award for Best Costume Designer for Dasavathaaram (2008).[13] She would go on to style several of his other films, including Vishwaroopam (2013) and Uttama Villain (2015). After sixteen years, she returned to acting, by starring in the Tamil film Papanasam (2015), in which she was paired with her real-life domestic partner, Kamal Haasan- a remake of director Jeethu Joseph's original Malayalam picture, Drishyam.[14] In 2016, her Telugu film (after almost 20 years of absence in Telugu cinema): Manamantha (2016) with Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair and other two junior artists has garnered positive reviews alike from the audience.[15] She made comeback to Mollywood industry after a 14-year sabbatical from acting in the horror-thriller titled E (2017) by playing the lead role.[16][17] She would be seen currently in Thupparivaalan 2 directed and starring Vishal, where she'd be playing a pivotal character.[18]
Gautami is a member of the BJP since 1997. She was BJYM vice president[19] She joined the party in 1997 under the leadership of LK Advani. She extensively campaigned for Atal Bihari Vajpayee during that period in Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. She took a break from politics after her daughter was born. She is back into BJP in 2017. In 2021, she was appointed as in-charge of the Rajapalayam Assembly constituency.[20][21]
Gautami founded Life Again Foundation (LAF) to help cancer patients.[22] Life Again Foundation has conducted more than 360 motivational camps for cancer patients, cancer awareness campaigns, and food drives. It also conducts Yoga and Alternative Therapy programs. It also periodically conducts health camps to conduct tests that screen for cancer and overall health.[23] LAF also runs 2 Mobile hospitals.[23] It also sponsors under-privileged students for higher education.[24] It runs Supplementary Education Centres and Vocational Training Centres.[24]
Year | Award Category | Awarded Work | Ref |
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1990 | Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize | Namma Ooru Poovatha | |
1991 | Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil | Nee Pathi Naan Pathi | [25] |
Cinema Express Awards for Special Best Tamil Actress | [26] | ||
Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress | Chakravyuham | [27] | |
1994 | Ramu Kaaryatt Award for Best Actress-Malayalam | Sukrutham | |
2009 | Vijay Award for Best Costume Designer | Dasavathaaram | [28] |
2013 | Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Costume Designer | Vishwaroopam | [citation needed] |
Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actress | |
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1972–1979 | |
1980–1999 |
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2000–2019 |
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