Sameera Reddy Says Son Made Her Return To Films After 13 Years: 'He Pushed Me'
Sameera Reddy, last seen in Tezz, is making a comeback after 13 years with the horror film Chimni. Her son's reaction to her 2008 movie Race inspired her return to acting.
After more than a decade away from the big screen, actress Sameera Reddy is returning to films, and she says her son is the reason. The Race and De Dana Dan star, last seen in the 2012 action thriller Tezz, will be seen next in Chimni, a supernatural horror drama in which she plays a grieving mother battling a malevolent spirit.
Sameera Reddy credits son for her comeback
Reddy revealed that her comeback was sparked by an unexpected conversation at home. A year ago, her son Hans, after watching her 2008 hit Race, reacted with surprise. ''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 recalled.
Hans was born in 2015 to Sameera and her husband, entrepreneur Akshai Varde. The couple also have a daughter, Nyra, born in 2019.
Starting from scratch
Returning to a film set after 13 years was not without nerves. While the crew referred to her as a 'veteran," Reddy felt otherwise. 'Aap toh veteran ho,'' they would say. 'Kya veteran?" she would reply, knowing she 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," she said.
Though absent from films, Reddy remained in the public eye through social media, a platform she embraced seriously around the Covid-19 pandemic. She said she uses it to openly address everyday struggles often hidden by celebrities. 'I am happy when women followers connect with a big smile, understanding that no one is beyond issues," she said, noting that she regularly posts about topics such as parenting challenges, in-law dynamics, aging, and body image.
Inside Chimni
Set in a mysterious old palace called Chanderi, Chimni follows a mother coping with loss while confronting a spirit that has taken control of her daughter. The teaser shows Reddy's character cautiously walking through darkness with a lamp, her face tense with fear. In one chilling moment, a spectral hand emerges from a well.
A background voice warns, 'The pishach will begin his game once again, one will go, another will come. He will try to take control of desire, anger, greed and pride. The day he succeeds in doing this, the pishach will become immortal."
When her character, Kali, asks if there is a way to stop it, the answer comes, 'There's only one way, by giving up your own life."
Sameera Reddy's career
Sameera Reddy's last release before her hiatus was Naam (2024), a film co-starring Ajay Devgn that was shot in 2005 but delayed nearly two decades. She also headlined the Kannada action drama Varadhanayaka in 2013.
Debuting with Maine Dil Tujhko Diya in 2002, Reddy went on to star in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu films including Darna Mana Hai (2003), Musafir (2004), Taxi No. 9211 (2006), Race (2008), Vaaranam Aayiram (2008), and Vettai (2012).
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