Describing Nandamuri Balakrishna as a sweetheart, yesteryear actress Gautami on Saturday said that he won't beat anybody.

Why did she have to say this?

At Life Again Foundation's cancer awareness programme in Vizag, Gautami yesterday was taking questions from journalists.

It's when a journo asked her as to how she will manage if Balayya (who also teamed up with the Foundation during the event) were to beat up people (obviously, he asked this because the actor was in the news for slapping one fan or another at rallies in recent months).

To this, Gautami said, "I know him well. He is a sweetheart. He won't."

The questioning seemed to descend into a not-so-fun affair when the journo reportedly said that the actor has slapped fans more than a few times. At this, Gautami marshalled her diplomatic skills to say that, as a fan of Balakrishna, she won't let anybody talk against the star.

The no-nonsense actress then requested everybody to drop the conversation.