Samantha Akkineni was recently in the news for hosting the Bigg Boss Telugu Dasara special episode as her father-in-law Nagarjuna, the show’s regular host, was away for a film shoot. The actor made a mark for herself on the show. This was followed by her debut as a talk show host with her own show Sam Jam on the Telugu OTT platform Aha. The first episode of Sam Jam had Vijay Deverakonda as the guest, and gained the attention of her fans in a big way.
Now, she will be seen in an important role in the second season of The Family Man, a web series directed by Raj and DK. Speaking to IANS about content on OTT platforms, Samantha said, “OTT gives us an opportunity to break rules. I've broken a lot of rules with The Family Man 2, and really experimented with something extremely new.”
"I am very happy with the product and with the output. It's going to be a good surprise for everyone who is used to seeing me do a particular type of role," she added.
Samantha said that the world of OTT has opened up new opportunities at every level. "OTT has opened up a world of possibilities for every technician, actually. When it comes to feature films, as an actor you have to do a certain kind of role that it's widely and universally accepted. With OTT, one can really afford to take risks and experiment," said Samantha.
Asked how things have changed for women in the industry, she said, "It's been 10 years since I've been in the industry, and I feel things have drastically changed from the time I first came in."
Samantha will be joining actor Manoj Bajpayee in the second season of The Family Man. The upcoming season will pit Srikant Tiwari (essayed by Manoj Bajpayee) against a new powerful and avenging adversary. It promises lots of exciting and action-filled moments while exploring relatable themes of home, belonging and estrangement.
Samantha also has a number of acting assignments lined up, including the Vignesh Shivan directorial Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kadhal in which she shares the screen with Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara for the first time.
Further, there are reports that Ashwin Saravanan of Maya and Game Over fame will be directing a film starring Samantha. Touted to be a horror thriller, the pre-production work for this film is currently on and will take off at the right time, say sources. Reports are that Prasanna has been roped in to play the male lead. Sony Pictures will be bankrolling the film which remains untitled as of now.
(With inputs from IANS and Digital Native)