Gautami Tadimalla is an award winning Indian film and television actress, host, costume designer, and founder of the Life Again Foundation. She has worked extensively and to great success in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, and Kannada film industries beginning in the 90s, resulting in an enduring creative legacy recognised by professionals, critics, and audiences alike. After recovering from breast cancer at 35, she became an activist to raise awareness for health and education-related causes and founded the Life Again Foundation (LAF) to raise awareness of cancer, consolidate the patient care ecosystem, and establish a globally interconnected healthcare infrastructure for those most in need of it.
Appearing in some 120 odd films, Ms Gautami’s acting has been recognised by her peers, critics, and audiences. Many of her films saw immense commercial success and have been commended by the likes of Filmfare, the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, the Andhra Pradesh State Film Awards, and even the National Awards. Raja Chinna Roja (1989), Panakkaran (1990), Dharma Durai (1991), and Dhruvam (1993) were blockbuster hits; Apoorva Sagodharargal (1989) won Filmfare Awards; His Highness Abdullah (1990), Thevar Magan (1992), Sukrutham (1994) and Iruvar (1997) won National Awards.
In the late 2000s, Ms Gautami began working as a costume designer in the film industry. Her work as a costume designer was not only recognised within the industry, among professionals, but also garnered awards; most notably the Vijay Award for Best Costume Designer for the film Dasavathaaram in 2008 and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Costume Designer for the film Vishwaroopam in 2017. Gautami has continued to perform in serials, reality shows, miniseries, and films, among which have been Manamantha, E, and Anni Manchi Sakunamule. She continues to challenge herself in her acting, technical, and creative skills as she always has through these projects.
LAF was founded with the initial aim of raising awareness about cancer and reaching treatment facilities to people across the socio-economic spectrum. However, with extensive experience of ground realities, the mandate has expanded to working within the areas of health, focus on NCD – non-communicable diseases, and education – skills development, leadership skills, entrepreneurial capacity development. In Ms Gautami’s mission to reach health education and treatment resources to the general public, she realised the inherent chasms of inequality in various socioeconomic strata of Indian society. Her mindset has evolved into the understanding that education and safe food are integral to empowering human beings and structures of upward mobility and growth. The mandate of LAF has shifted into the verticals of health, education, agriculture and safe food as a holistic means of uplifting individuals and communities as a whole. What began as a charitable endeavour providing support to local communities quickly expanded to an international organisation through which Ms Gautami would reach countless people with her message of awareness, determination, and hope.
Ms Gautami has used her celebrity status and name recognition to rally thousands of people to workshops and screening camps that highlight the importance of lifestyle changes, wellness and preventive medical care. Through LAF, Ms Gautami has conducted more than 360 motivational camps for cancer patients, cancer awareness campaigns, and health camps for overall checkups and cancer screening. Ms Gautami has in particular pioneered yoga among other traditional alternative health management tools and therapies. LAF has also sponsored cancer treatments and underprivileged students for higher education, while also providing supplementary education centres and vocational training centres.
Ms Gautami has lectured at corporate entities, social organisations, and universities across the socioeconomic all over India and often abroad, speaking to hundreds not only regarding health awareness, but also on critical topics such as mental health, gender equality, and self-motivation. She has also lectured on creativity as an underutilised problem solving and decision making tool and other such interdisciplinary philosophies in corporate spaces at management institutions such as the prestigious Great Lakes Management Institute, headed by the legendary later Professor Bala. Professor Bala, who graduated from the renowned Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University, USA, acted as a mentor and supporter to Ms Gautami’s philosophy of holistic education.
