Family support is crucial for breast cancer patients: Gautami

Actress Gautami Tadimalla, a breast cancer survivor, is a source of inspiration for many women who are waging a battle against the disease. After bringing the cancer down to its knees, Gautami makes it a point to talk about it on public platforms. “I never thought of hiding breast cancer; it’s not something to be ashamed of. It’s an illness that can be cured.

Since its reputation is bad, the more we speak about it the better it is,” says Gautami in a chat with Hans Talkies. The actress made time to attend a promotional event of a short film ‘Life Again’ by Hyma Reddy in Hyderabad recently. The film narrates the real life tale of Hyma, a breast cancer survivor too.

Gautami, a West Godavari native, believes that by leading a healthy lifestyle, women can avoid the risk of being affected by breast cancer. “The biggest poison is the food we take. 95 per cent of what we eat is rubbish. Avoid taking oil, chili powder and salt in excess. Also prefer food from natural farming,” she shares.

The family support, Gautami insists, is crucial for a breast cancer-affected. “The family should be in the mindset of all for one and one for all. It’s also important for them to understand that there’s nothing to be ashamed of breast cancer and that it’s not a contagious disease,” Gautami explains.

In her case, Kamal Haasan, her partner, has been a constant pillar of support for her. “My parents were not there at that point of time but he was there for me. I was lucky. In fact, his family members too were of great strength. I had so much love.” Shifting focus to films, Gautami, who made a comeback to acting with ‘Papanasam’ (remake of Malayalam hit ‘Drishyam’) recently after a gap of more than 15 years, is happy with the way her role was received.

“I did more than 120 films cutting across all south languages but it’s for the first time I received a unanimous positive response for my role,” she smiles. Did she missed being on screen? “No, I didn’t,” she exults. “After getting into showbiz I sorted out my priorities from work to family.

Most important thing was to have a baby which I had. And after the baby I realised it was not possible to strike a balance between work and her and so I decided to stay away from work.” Ask her how difficult it is to share life with a superstar whose work constantly attracts one or other form of controversy, Gautami responds, “He shares his problems with me but never have I seen him coming home being tensed. Nor has he shown his stress on family members once.

He arrives home with a smile and the first question he asks me is ‘where are the children’. I appreciate this quality of his.”The actress-turned-designer still looks ravishing at 47 and before we proceed with our question, she corrects us, “I just turned 46.” She believes, “What you eat, how much you exercise and what’s your state of mind” reflects on your body.

By:Nagaraj Goud