Samantha Ruth Prabhu says family told her not to do item song Oo Antava right after separation from Naga Chaitanya

The blockbuster Telugu film Pushpa: The Rise is not just known for the performances of Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil. The hit item song Oo Antava, featuring Samantha Ruth Prabhu, also became an instant rage. The actor shared that she had received the offer while she was separated from her ex-husband actor Naga Chaitanya and her close family and friends advised her against it. However, her first instinct was to take it as she didn’t want to sit at home amongst all the negative press. (Also read: Samantha Ruth Prabhu says she hasn’t become ‘cynical, bitter’ after failed relationship: ‘I have so much love to give’)

The actor will next be seen in Shaakuntalam, in which she plays the title role opposite Dev Mohan’s king Dushyanta. Since her divorce in 2021, Samantha has been selective in picking the projects she appears in. Her special appearance in Pushpa’s item number was the first thing she chose after her separation was announced. Her family and close friends felt she should not have taken it up.

In an interview with Miss Malini, Samantha recalled how she didn’t want to hide away during her divorce proceedings. She said, “When I was offered ‘Oo Antava’, it was in the middle of the separation [from Naga]. After the announcement came, every well-wisher and every family member was like ‘You will sit at home, you will not do an item song just when you have announced the separation’. Even my friends, who always encouraged me to challenge myself, told me, ‘Do not do an item song’. But I was like, ‘Ok, I am doing it.'”

She continued, “I just thought, ‘Why should I hide?’ I did not do anything wrong. I was not going to wait for all of the trolling, abuse and hate to go away and slowly creep back in like someone who committed a crime. I was not going to do that. I gave my marriage 100%, it did not work out. But, I was not going to beat myself up and feel guilty for something I didn’t do.”

Samantha will also be seen in the Telugu film Kushi with Vijay Deverakonda . Written and directed by Shiva Nirvana, it will be released on September 1, 2023. She is currently filming for the Indian adaptation of the Prime Video series Citadel with Varun Dhawan. The series is directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, also known as Raj and DK. She had worked with the filmmakers on the second season of The Family Man in which she had played the antagonist.

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