Kamal Haasan and Gautami end their relationship

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,” wrote Gautami in a blog post titled Life and Decisions, on Tuesday.

The actress revealed that the prime reason for them to separate was that they had grown apart — “It is never easy for anyone in a committed relationship to realise that their paths have irreversibly diverged and that the only choices in front of them are to either compromise with their dreams for life or to accept the truth of their solitude and move ahead. It has taken me a very long time, a couple of years at the very least, to accept this heartbreaking truth and come to this decision,” she elaborated.

Asserting that she isn’t looking for sympathy and that the decision is very hard on her, Gautami talked about how it was important to make peace within herself.

“This decision to set forth on my own at this stage in my life is perhaps one of the most difficult decisions any woman will ever have to make but it is a necessary one for me. For I am a mother first and foremost, and I have a responsibility to my child to be the best mother that I can be. And to do that, it is essential that I am at peace within myself,” she explained.

Reportedly, the two have been living separately for the last few months, after Gautami moved out along with her daughter Subbulakshmi, from Kamal’s ECR residence. Close sources say that she is living in her Thiruvanmiyur house. They are not active in talking about each other or sharing each other’s posts on social media. Most recently, Kamal neither uploaded nor retweeted Gautami’s meeting with PM Modi.

Gautami is now preparing herself to live without Kamal and work for cancer activism. The two were last seen onscreen together in Papanasam last year.
Though close aides say that both wanted to jointly announce this, Gautami’s call of going ahead and announcing it separately did not go well with Ulaganayagan.

Is Shruti Haasan a reason?

Gautami and Kamal’s elder daughter, actress Shruti are known to have had differences earlier. In fact, on the sets of Sabaash Naidu, a source confirms their misunderstandings.

“A few months ago, everyone was talking about how Shruti didn’t like the costumes designed by Gautami. But the truth is that there were other issues between them too. For instance, the animosity between them was very visible when they were together on sets,” a source tells us, adding, “Shruti has tried to defy everything she says. But since she was her stylist, that’s where the major tension was released.”

In fact, in several of her interviews later, Shruti didn’t deny any of the problems and maintained a diplomatic stand.

“She loves her father too much and obviously couldn’t say anything. She chose to maintain a dignified silence in public,” the source adds.

(With inputs from Anupama Subramanian and Pranita Jonnalagedda)