Gautami Tadimalla (born 2 July 1968) is an Indian actress, social worker, politician and Deputy Propaganda Secretary of

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK, also abbreviated as ADMK), also shortened to Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is an Indian Regionalism (politics), regional political party with great influence in the Federated state, sta ...

. She has worked mainly in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

cinema, in addition to

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, and

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

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 in films.Rediff On The NeT, Movies: An interview with Gauthami
. Rediff.com (1999-06-12). Retrieved on 2012-07-11.

Personal life

Gautami was born into a

-speaking family from

Srikakulam Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census, it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaan ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, to T. R. Seshagiri Rao and Vasundhara Devi. Her father was a radiation

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''� ...

, while her mother was a pathologist and diagnostician. She studied at

Bishop Cotton Girls' School Bishop Cotton Girls' School, or BCGS, is a private all-girls' school for boarders and day scholars in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The school offers academic scholarships, which aid students from lower income backgrounds to afford tuition and ...

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. During her childhood, she also lived in Visakhapatnam and Kerala. 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 Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

from 2005 till 2016. In 2016, Gautami announced on her blog that she had ended her relationship with him. 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". She was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 35, and recovered later.

Film career

Gautami attended GITAM University in Visakhapatnam to pursue engineering. She made her film debut with the Telugu film ''Dayamayudu'' (1987), which was produced by her cousin. She later appeared in films such as ''Gandhinagar Rendava Veedhi'' and ''Srinivasa Kalyanam'' (both 1987). She was then introduced to Tamil cinema with ''Guru Shishyan'' (1988), starring

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, ...

and

Prabhu ''Prabhu'' means ''master'' or ''prince'' in Sanskrit and many of the Indian languages; it is a name sometimes applied to God. Surname Prabhu is a surname among Gaud saraswat Brahmins, saraswat Brahmins and other Brahmins across the Ko ...

. Gautami was most active in Tamil cinema between 1987 and 1998. Her notable performances in Malayalam films include ''

His Highness Abdullah ''His Highness Abdullah'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language musical drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil. It stars Mohanlal, Nedumudi Venu, Gautami, Sreenivasan, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair and Mamukkoya. The ...

'' (1990) with

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...

, '' Daddy'' (1992) with Arvind Swami '' Dhruvam'' (1993) with

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...

and '' Ayalathe Adheham'' (1993) with

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965), is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Bhojpuri language films. He is also a chenda ...

. Her role in '' Sukrutham'' (1994) was penned by the writer

M. T. Vasudevan Nair Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Narayanan Nair (15 July 1933 – 25 December 2024) was an Indian author, lecturer, Screenwriter, screenplay writer and film director. He was a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and was o ...

. She has acted also in Kannada films '' Elu Suttina Kote'' (1987), ''

Chikkejamanru ''Chikkejamanru'' () is a 1992 Kannada-language drama film directed by Om Sai Prakash. The cast includes V. Ravichandran, Gautami, Jai Jagadish, Shubha and Mukhyamantri Chandru among others. The film was a remake of Tamil film ''Chinna Gound ...

'' (1992), '' Cheluva'' (1997), and in the Hindi movies, '' Pyar Hua Chori Chori'' (1991), '' Aadmi'' (1993), ''

Janta Ki Adalat ''Janta Ki Adalat'' () is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by T L V Prasad and produced by K. C. Bokadia, starring Mithun Chakraborty. It is a remake of Tamil film Mutrugai. It was the first movie of TLV Prasad with Mithun Ch ...

'' (1994), ''

Trimurti The Trimurti ( /t̪ɾimʊɾt̪iː/) is the triple deity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, and destruction are personified as a triad of deities. Typically, the designations are that ...

'' (1995), ''

Dhaal ''Dhaal'' () is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Sameer Malkan. The film stars Vinod Khanna, Sunil Shetty, Gauthami, Anjali Jathar, Amrish Puri and Danny Denzongpa. The production began in 1993 but faced several de ...

'' (1997) and ''Haiwan'' (1998). Her notable Tamil movies was '' Apoorva Sagodharargal'' (1989), '' Raja Chinna Roja'' (1989), ''

Panakkaran ''Panakkaran'' () is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by P. Vasu. A remake of the Hindi film '' Lawaaris'' (1981), it stars Rajinikanth and Gautami. The film was released on 14 January 1990, Pongal day, and ran for more t ...

'' (1990), '' Ooru Vittu Ooru Vanthu'' (1990), '' Namma Ooru Poovatha'' (1990), '' Dharma Durai'' (1991), ''

Nee Pathi Naan Pathi ''Nee Pathi Naan Pathi'' () is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Vasanth and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Rahman, Gautami and Heera. The music was composed by M. M. Keeravani under the pseud ...

'' (1991), ''

Rickshaw Mama ''Rickshaw Mama'' () is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language film directed by P. Vasu. The film stars Sathyaraj, Gouthami and Khushbu. It was released on 15 January 1992, and completed a 100-day run. Plot Bhuvana, a lonely girl who is parent-less, l ...

'' (1992), ''

Thevar Magan ''Thevar Magan'' ( or ) is a 1992 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Bharathan, and written and produced by Kamal Haasan. It stars Sivaji Ganesan, Haasan, Revathi, Gautami and Nassar (acto ...

'' (1992), '' Honest Raj'' (1994), '' Nammavar'' (1994), '' Kuruthipunal'' (1995) as well as

Mani Ratnam Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. H ...

's ''

Iruvar ''Iruvar'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language epic political drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Mani Ratnam. The film, inspired by the lives of M. G. Ramachandran, M. Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa, is set against the backdrop ...

'' (1997). She made a guest appearance in the song "Chikku Bukku Railu" with

Prabhu Deva Prabhu Deva (born 3 April 1973) is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu language, Telugu language films also appeared in few Kannada and Malayal ...

in the film ''

Gentleman ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

'' (1993). Her film '' Sasanam'', featuring Arvind Swami, released in 2006, but it was shot in 1996. She played the lead in the Tamil serial ''Indira''. She had hosted a

talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

in Sun TV titled ''Anbudan''. She acted in the serial '' Abirami'' which was telecast on Kalaignar TV. She made a comeback to the film industry in the late 2000s as a costume designer for films starring her partner

. She went on to style several of her other films, including ''

Vishwaroopam ''Vishwaroopam'' (titled ''Vishwaroop'' in Hindi; ) is a 2013 Indian action spy film co-written, directed and produced by Kamal Haasan, who also enacts the lead role. The film also stars Rahul Bose, Shekhar Kapur, Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremia ...

'' (2013) and ''

Uttama Villain () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Ramesh Aravind and written by Kamal Haasan, who co-produced the film with Chandrahasan under Raaj Kamal Films International and N. Lingusamy and N. Subash Chandrabose under T ...

'' (2015). After sixteen years, she returned to acting, by starring in the Tamil film ''

Papanasam Papanasam is a Panchayati raj in India, panchayat town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Kumbakonam. The name literally translates to "Destruction of Sins" in the Tamil language. It ...

'' (2015), in which she was paired with her partner

, remake of the original Malayalam film, ''

Drishyam ''Drishyam'' () is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. It stars Mohanlal alongside Meena, Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Asha Sharath, Siddique, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Roshan Basheer and ...

''. She made comeback to Malayalam after 14 years in the horror thriller titled '' E'' (2017) playing the lead role.

Political career

BJP (1997 - 2023)

Gautami was a member of the BJP from 1997 to 2023. She was BJYM vice president. She joined the party in 1997 under the leadership of LK Advani. She extensively campaigned for

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...

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. On 23 October 2023, She quit BJP, claiming that the party's senior members have been helping a person who has swindled her off her properties.

AIADMK (2024 - present)

On 14 February 2024, She joined the

in the presence of its general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami. On 21 October 2024, She was appointed as the Deputy Propaganda Secretary of the AIADMK.

Charity work

Gautami founded Life Again Foundation (LAF) to help cancer patients. 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. LAF also runs 2 Mobile hospitals. It also sponsors under-privileged students for higher education. It runs Supplementary Education Centres and Vocational Training Centres.

Awards and honours

Filmography

References

External links

* {{authority control Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses from Andhra Pradesh Actresses in Tamil cinema Indian film actresses Indian costume designers Living people Actresses in Malayalam cinema Filmfare Awards South winners Telugu actresses 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Kannada cinema People from Srikakulam Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Indian women comedians Indian women fashion designers Indian fashion designers 21st-century Indian designers 21st-century Indian women artists 20th-century Indian designers 20th-century Indian women artists Indian television actresses Actresses in Tamil television Actresses in Malayalam television Actresses in Hindi cinema 1968 births Tamil Nadu politicians All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam politicians Nandi Award winners