Samantha gets candid about the early stages of her career, her spiritual journey and more (2024)

That Southern Indian films and subsequentlyactors and cinema creators from the region are gaining popularityacross the medium has been the headlining truth about the industryfor a while now. According to a report by theConfederation of Indian Industry (CII), revenues from the South Indian film industry have doubled to₹7,800 crore in 2022, from what they were in the previous year,making their total a chunky 52 per cent of the annual revenuecollected by the pan-Indian film industry.

At the heart of this high-octane fraternity, Samantha stands tall. Spanning across four languages—Telugu, Tamil, Kannada,and Malayalamalso referred to as Kollywood, Tollywood, Sandalwood, and Mollywood—Samantha has successfully dabbled with the first two. In 2021, she made her debutin Hindi OTT with Family Man (Season 2)and is also starring in theanticipated Citadel, not to be confused with the American show, starringPriyanka Chopra, Richard Madden, and Stanley Tucci.

Samantha has been relevant across her roles, whether she is playing a sexy sirenopposite Allu Arjun in ‘Oo Antava’ thathad over a billion views or the girl next door in Aradhya with Vijay Deverakonda. In an exclusiveconversation with Bazaar India, she tells us about dealing with challenges—personal andprofessional, adopting a holistic approach towards life, what’s next for her, and more.

Harper’s Bazaar: Much like Hindi cinema’s favouritemuse Deepika Padukone, you also dabbled with modelling in the early stages of your career. Did youalways know that you wanted to be an actor? What did you learn from your time as a model?

Samantha: I did dabble in modelling in the initial stages of my career, during college and for a little time after, but the focuswas always on education. I think every Indian household teaches its kids that the route to success is through education, so I, too,felt like I needed to study, which wasn’t so hard because I loved studying. I was one of those students who enjoyed waking up at4:00 a.m., ready to revise for the hundredth time on an exam day. On the contrary, my mother would tell me it’s okay to takeit a little easy. So, I don’t think acting was ever an option. I think modelling gave me a purpose at that point in time. Itwas a hard time. Things weren’t easy at home and I couldn’tstudy further. I was clueless and at a low point in my life with no plan. Modelling gave me a plan and purpose, a goal. As far asbeing in front of the camera goes, fortunately, I don’t use anything from my modelling days now,otherwise, I would have been an absolute disaster. I was bad at it when I started out. Isometimes, actually almost always, cringe or run to change the channel when something of mine is playing on the TV becauseit’s so embarrassing that I was so bad at it.

HB: From Raji in Family Man 2 to Aara in Kushi thisyear—how do you prepare for such varying roles that test the mettle of an actor?

S: Sometimes you’re fortunate to work with visionaries, with people who are the best in the business,and sometimes the character they narrate aligns with your vision. When both thesethings happen, there is magic on screen.So, in situations like these, everythinggoes right and you’re proud of the work you do, and you just hopethat there is enough talent in you. It really makes youwant to be greedy for more.

That said, it always feels like I’m juststarting out. Thirteen years later, I’m still doing a whole bunch of classesbecause I am eager to learn. I’m always looking to be better. I think that’smy motto in life—to always work harder to be better. So I don’tthink that there’s any other process but working harder, and sometimes that translates on screen and sometimes it does not.Now I have to focus on delivering hits every single time and making sure there are more hits than misses. I think that thistime that I’m taking away from films is giving me a lot of clarityon picking quality over quantity and making sure that I don’t have too many misses anymore.

HB: With the Hindi spin-off of the American showCitadel under your belt, and so much behind you, is there a particular genre of cinema that you’re drawn to? Howdo you choose your roles?

S: I love action and you will be seeing a lot of it with Citadel. Itis an amazing genre, especially for a woman today; kicking a** is always very cool. But I want to do everything—I want to beoffered everything. I want to be challenged and I want to do mybest. Recently, I said I’m never doing love stories again, but I don’t think I should run away from exploring complex roles andemotions on screen. So I am not restricting myself to a specific genre right now.

HB: What difference do you see between the Hindi filmindustry versus the Tamil and Telugu industries?

S: I don’t think there’s a particularly different working style in these industries, but the way I pick roles differs slightly.Down south, I try to pick characters that have a more universal appeal, because for a film to succeed there, we have to besuccessful in all aspects, not just one. And sometimes you have to pick more mass-appealingcharacters. But with Bollywood, I would like to explore characters that are more layered, intricate, and nuanced.

HB: You have garnered a following of over 30 million on Instagram. What has your relationship with socialmedia been like, and how do you deal with the challenges of leading a life in the public eye while stillbeing your true self?

S: It isn’t really easy, but I think I’ve hit a sweet spot in my relationship with social media, because while I’m used to thetrolling (there’s been so much of it throughout my career that I’m used to it by now), I feel very lucky to have a large part of myfollowers see me for who I truly am. It’s enormously fulfilling for me to be my true self, showweaknesses, strengths, and all of the in-between. Of course, ask me again in another week whensomething I have said or posted incorrectly explodes and I become the target for another trolling fest and maybe I’ll changemy mind, but as of now it’s sort of a sweet spot.

HB: You’ve been open about most parts of your life—the good and the bad—never giving in to the romanticisedidea of perfection. Is that something you consciously want your followers to take from you?

S: When I hit an all-time low of, well, a failed marriage, andmy health and work were getting affected, it was like a triple whammy; boom, boom, boom. You know, people go down forfar less than what I endured for the last two years or so. Duringthat time, I read about actors who have gone through health issues and made a comeback, or suffered trolling or anxiety. Andreading their stories helped me. It gave me strength to know that if they did it, I can, too. It’s important to recognise that being a loved star in this nation is an incredible gift; so be responsible for it, be honest and real,and tell your story. And it’s not always about how many super hits and blockbusters one has, how many awards have been won,the perfect body, or the most beautiful outfits. It’s the pain, the hardships, the lows. I don’t care that my lows have been so public,I’m actually quite empowered by them. I know I am going to fight with all I have, and I hope that people who are in a similarsituation, also have the strength to just keep fighting.

HB: You’ve exposed your followers to a deep, spiritualside of you. What according to you is a holistic approach to life?

S: I was telling my friend, ‘when everything fails, that’s where it all begins’, and I think my journey with spirituality beganwhen everything else failed. For someone who wasn’t particularly religious or couldn’t even sit still for aminute in meditation, I have really come a long way. It’s not a quick fix.It’s not like popping a pill and making your problems go away,but if you invest in this path, it can be hugely beneficial. If I did not have this path, I would have probably gone to a really darkplace and I might not have been able to crawl out of it. I’m strongtoday and find reasons to laugh all the time. I have this acknowledgment that life is not just about me, which otherwise,especially as an actor, is hard, since you’re in this bubble, in a very selfish space. I think spirituality has helped me connect withsomething that is larger than me.

HB: From mind to body wellness, your workout videos have been a major source of motivation for many onyour social network. How do you manage to push yourself and stay consistent on days when you arefeeling demotivated?

S: I have the best trainer, Junaid, who does not take no for an answer and has been an enormous source ofstrength for me in the last one and a half years. During this whole process there wasa lot of fatigue and I was lifting and moving 30-40 per cent less than what I was doing when I was healthy. I remember there were many days when I wouldn’t be able to push in the gym,and I would cry in front of him. He would pretend that hecouldn’t see me crying. Then he would be like, ‘okay, next set, let’s go’. He doesn’t know how much that helped me. He’s been an incredible motivator through this process and I can’t evenbegin to explain how my journey with fitness and the rigid physical routine has helped. It’s not just about looking good. It’sabout enormous willpower, mental strength, focus, and thisincredible belief in yourself.

HB: Earlier this year, you said you planned on taking a break from acting. What are you prioritising at themoment and what is next for you?

S: When I went down last year, I didn’t get to move out of myhouse for a good amount of time. I promised myself that once Ifelt better I would take a break, I would travel, I would live a little. Because 13 years of not taking abreak, running a race that no one knows who’s winning and then also, winning whatexactly. Because once you get one blockbuster, you just want abigger blockbuster and another best actor award. It’s never ending. So I think taking this break also proves a point to myselfthat I’m not looking for external validation. I’m really glad that I have made that switch and am prioritisingexperiencing life a little, living in the moment, and getting time to spend with people I love. And I know this is only going to make me a better actor. Experiences are the best teachers and they show in your performance.

Lead photo credit:Round shoulder tube dress from the F/W 2023 Collection, Louis Vuitton

Photographs by Sushant Chhabria, Styling by Divyak D'Souza,Assistant Stylist: Kriti Baid,Hair: Daksh Nidhi,Make-up: Avni Rambhia