“I am single and ready to mingle”
The vivacious and sexy Sameera Reddy has lately undergone a transformation not just in her looks but also her image vis-à-vis her acting career. The actress has been lately attempting a diverse range of characters in films. Her comic timing in films like De Dana Dan is being appreciated as much as her serious performances in Bengali cinema. She talks about her work and her personal life at length.
Your new slim and svelte look has reportedly won you a lot of compliments from friends and filmmakers. Did you get caught up in the size zero syndrome like most other actresses?
I didn’t do it because everyone was into the size zero syndrome. I was quite content being voluptuous but I had to lose weight for Nagesh Kuknoor’s forthcoming film Yeh Hausla. Nagesh told me clearly that my slightly bulky frame would be a misfit for the character of the poor Rajasthani woman that I play in the film.
The character of the woman was that of a poor grass cutter and he wanted me to have a rather skinny look. Though there was not much pressure from him about arriving at a particular weight, I ended up losing almost 7 kilos. It only proved to be beneficial for me since a majority of heroines are going for the thin look these days. Now I am taking precautions to maintain what I have achieved. In fact I feel quite comfortable in this thin new look. I am also making a conscious effort to adopt vegetarianism. Since my mother is a Manglorean and my father is from Assam we are natural fish eaters. But I am turning vegetarian because I feel it's a healthy option.
Coming to your career, you seem to have switched over completely to multi-starrers with not a single solo release in the past one year. Your latest release De Dana Dan is also a multi-starrer.
I have no qualms about doing multi-starrers. For me, it’s more about having a hit than the amount of people I work with. Race has been one of the strongest films last year. It may have been perceived as a race among its many actors to outshine each other but the fact remains that it was a huge success. The same goes with De Dana Dan. Besides, I don’t think I went unnoticed in either of the two films. In fact, I too got my due for my comic timing in the film.
Comedy seems to have become your new forte.
Yes, after Musafir I was fed up of being offered the same hot roles and dance numbers. I then decided that enough was enough and I did not want to get carried away by such roles further. I started exploring films in different genres. Last year I did a lot of serious roles in Bengali cinema and it gave me a lot of creative satisfaction. Now I have shifted my focus to light hearted and comic roles with comedy kings like Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar. It has also given me an opportunity to display the other side of my acting caliber.
There were reports at one point of time that you had deliberately cut down on signing new projects in the intervening period.
That’s not true. I guess people arrived at this conclusion because the releases of films that I had signed got held back due to the recession. Among them were Nagesh Kuknoor’s Yeh Hausla and Anant Mahadevan’s Red Alert. It was the time when the pace of work suddenly slackened and projects which were to take off were dropped at the last moment.
Nevertheless, I was working round the clock in the past one year. I also have two films lined up for release in the south in the next few months.
Did it not occur to you at any point of time to take up reality shows and make big money unlike your other counterparts?
I don’t like to make appearances on reality shows simply to register my presence or for the sake of being seen. I don’t like hosting television shows either because it is time consuming or I cannot devote that kind of time. I’d rather do what I love most in life.
So how do you spend your time when you are not shooting?
I am a great travel enthusiast who likes to go traveling the world over. More recently I drove down to Rajasthan and explored the place in all its magnificence. I went to the famous Janakpur Jain Temple and also saw the amazing forts, temples and peacocks in Rohitgad. Prior to that, I visited my sister in Greece, which was my sixth visit there. I have now picked up the language too. So life has been a roller coaster ride so far. I am enjoying it.
Your personal life has been rather low key in comparison to the other actresses.
If the indication is towards my single status, I would say yes, I am single and ready to mingle now. Recently when I had been at Shilpa Shetty’s reception I told her that she was a lucky girl. Shilpa then asked me not to worry and told me that I would find someone soon. I hope I do. I am bored and haven’t found my knight in shining armour yet.
The vivacious and sexy Sameera Reddy has lately undergone a transformation not just in her looks but also her image vis-à-vis her acting career. The actress has been lately attempting a diverse range of characters in films. Her comic timing in films like De Dana Dan is being appreciated as much as...
The vivacious and sexy Sameera Reddy has lately undergone a transformation not just in her looks but also her image vis-à-vis her acting career. The actress has been lately attempting a diverse range of characters in films. Her comic timing in films like De Dana Dan is being appreciated as much as her serious performances in Bengali cinema. She talks about her work and her personal life at length.
Your new slim and svelte look has reportedly won you a lot of compliments from friends and filmmakers. Did you get caught up in the size zero syndrome like most other actresses?
I didn’t do it because everyone was into the size zero syndrome. I was quite content being voluptuous but I had to lose weight for Nagesh Kuknoor’s forthcoming film Yeh Hausla. Nagesh told me clearly that my slightly bulky frame would be a misfit for the character of the poor Rajasthani woman that I play in the film.
The character of the woman was that of a poor grass cutter and he wanted me to have a rather skinny look. Though there was not much pressure from him about arriving at a particular weight, I ended up losing almost 7 kilos. It only proved to be beneficial for me since a majority of heroines are going for the thin look these days. Now I am taking precautions to maintain what I have achieved. In fact I feel quite comfortable in this thin new look. I am also making a conscious effort to adopt vegetarianism. Since my mother is a Manglorean and my father is from Assam we are natural fish eaters. But I am turning vegetarian because I feel it's a healthy option.
Coming to your career, you seem to have switched over completely to multi-starrers with not a single solo release in the past one year. Your latest release De Dana Dan is also a multi-starrer.
I have no qualms about doing multi-starrers. For me, it’s more about having a hit than the amount of people I work with. Race has been one of the strongest films last year. It may have been perceived as a race among its many actors to outshine each other but the fact remains that it was a huge success. The same goes with De Dana Dan. Besides, I don’t think I went unnoticed in either of the two films. In fact, I too got my due for my comic timing in the film.
Comedy seems to have become your new forte.
Yes, after Musafir I was fed up of being offered the same hot roles and dance numbers. I then decided that enough was enough and I did not want to get carried away by such roles further. I started exploring films in different genres. Last year I did a lot of serious roles in Bengali cinema and it gave me a lot of creative satisfaction. Now I have shifted my focus to light hearted and comic roles with comedy kings like Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar. It has also given me an opportunity to display the other side of my acting caliber.
There were reports at one point of time that you had deliberately cut down on signing new projects in the intervening period.
That’s not true. I guess people arrived at this conclusion because the releases of films that I had signed got held back due to the recession. Among them were Nagesh Kuknoor’s Yeh Hausla and Anant Mahadevan’s Red Alert. It was the time when the pace of work suddenly slackened and projects which were to take off were dropped at the last moment.
Nevertheless, I was working round the clock in the past one year. I also have two films lined up for release in the south in the next few months.
Did it not occur to you at any point of time to take up reality shows and make big money unlike your other counterparts?
I don’t like to make appearances on reality shows simply to register my presence or for the sake of being seen. I don’t like hosting television shows either because it is time consuming or I cannot devote that kind of time. I’d rather do what I love most in life.
So how do you spend your time when you are not shooting?
I am a great travel enthusiast who likes to go traveling the world over. More recently I drove down to Rajasthan and explored the place in all its magnificence. I went to the famous Janakpur Jain Temple and also saw the amazing forts, temples and peacocks in Rohitgad. Prior to that, I visited my sister in Greece, which was my sixth visit there. I have now picked up the language too. So life has been a roller coaster ride so far. I am enjoying it.
Your personal life has been rather low key in comparison to the other actresses.
If the indication is towards my single status, I would say yes, I am single and ready to mingle now. Recently when I had been at Shilpa Shetty’s reception I told her that she was a lucky girl. Shilpa then asked me not to worry and told me that I would find someone soon. I hope I do. I am bored and haven’t found my knight in shining armour yet.
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