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Actor Sameera Reddy on acting comeback after 13 years with a horror-thriller: I was so nervous
Sameera Reddy returns to acting with her comeback film, Chimni, a horror-thriller set for a 2025 release. This will also mark her first venture into the genre
Actor Sameera Reddy will return to the silver screen after 13 years. Last seen in Tezz in 2012, she shares what kept her away for so long. “A year ago, my son saw my film Race (2008) and asked me, ‘Wow, you don’t look like that anymore. Mum, why don’t you act?’ I said, ‘Because I’ve been busy taking care of you and your sister.’ He pushed me to reconsider my decision of staying away from showbiz,” she shares.
The 46-year-old’s comeback project is a horror outing: “This film fit the bill perfectly. Titled Chimni, it’s a hardcore horror-thriller that is slated for release by end of this year. I got excited about it as I’ve never done something in the genre. I was a part of Darna Mana Hai (2004), but only as a narrator.”
Ask if she had cold feet while facing the camera after over a decade, and she says, “I was so nervous. People on the set were like, ‘Aap toh veteran ho,’ and I was like, ‘Kya veteran?’ I knew I had to start from scratch. But the moment I heard ‘action’, the actor who had been sleeping [inside me] for a long time woke up and I performed according to the director’s vision.”
Sameera admits that film-making has advanced in the past decade: “The kind of technology we have now is amazing. I remember doing a similar scene for Musafir (2004) many times so the director could get the shot from different angles. Today, things are much more sorted with a steadicam system in place.”
Before her return to acting, Sameera was busy enjoying her social media presence, which she started five years ago. "I got to explore the medium around the pandemic, and I felt these were normal issues that every woman goes through. Many celebrities try to hide it, saying, ‘Hamare sath aisa nahi hota,’ but I wanted to normalise it all, be it issues with kids, in-laws, and primarily aging and weight. I am happy when women followers connect with a big smile, understanding that no one is beyond issues."
