An actress who played a handful of memorable and realistic roles in Malayalam films, despite not being a Keralite herself!

That is how most of us identify with an ever radiant and graceful Gauthami. The actress, who won our hearts through her roles in His Highness Abdulla, Sukrutam and Dhruvam opened up about her personal life during her recent visit to Trivandrum as part of the film festival of Kerala.

"The strong women characters I played in Malayalam films helped me a great deal to fight the battles in my own life. Each of those characters is special to me," says Gauthami, who had to fight cancer at a young age of 35. She thanked the incredible people in her life, especially Kamal Haasan, for helping her sail through the tough times. "He has been more than a pillar and is an integral part of me," she says and adds that she made a comeback to cinema holding his hands.

"He asked whether I can do the costume designing of Dasavatharam and I said yes, without a second thought. And I started working on the project immediately," says Gauthami. The actress also said that she is eager to make a return to tinsel town as an actress and hinted that it will happen soon.