Actor Samantha Akkineni, who recently made her OTT debut in the second season of Amazon Prime Video’s The Family Man, shared a heartfelt note on Friday, June 4, about her digital debut and her character in the show. She shared a photo where she is seen alongside filmmakers Raj and DK on Instagram. The actor noted that although Raji, Samantha’s character who is seen as a highly skilled rebel operative, was fictional, she views it as a tribute to those “who died because of an unequal war.”
Samantha started the post by expressing she was happy to read all the comments and reviews from viewers and critics. Noting that Raji is special to her, Samantha wrote about the suffering of Eelam Tamils. “When @rajanddk approached me to do the character, I was aware that portraying Raji's character required sensitivity and balance,” the post read. Speaking about the research that went into playing Raji, Samantha wrote, “The creative team shared documentaries of the Tamil struggle that included stories of women in the Eelam war. When I watched those documentaries, I was aghast and shocked by the troubles and unspeakable grief that the Tamils of Eelam went through over an extended period of time.”
She also mentioned that the documentaries about the women in the civil war had helped her understand the grim realities they continue to face till date. “I noticed that the aforementioned documentaries had only a few thousand views and that is when it dawned on me how the world just looked away when tens of thousands people of Eelam lost their lives. And, lakhs more lost their livelihood and their homes. *Countless many* continue to live in far away lands with the wounds of the civil strife still fresh in their hearts and minds,” she wrote.
Samantha concluded the post by stating how she was particular about the character’s portrayal being balanced, nuanced and sensitive, since Raji’s story should come across as a stark and much-needed reminder for everyone to join hands and fight hate, oppression and greed. “Raji’s story, though fictional, to me, is a tribute to those that died because of an unequal war, and those who continue to live in the painful memory of the war. I was particular about Raji’s portrayal being balanced, nuanced, and sensitive. I want Raji’s story to be a stark, much-needed reminder for us, more than ever before, to come together as humans to fight hate, oppression, and greed. If we fail to do so, countless more will be denied their identity, liberty, and their right to self-determination.”
The second season of The Family Man stars actors Manoj Bajpayee, Samantha Akkineni, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Sunny Hinduja, Sharad Kelkar, Darshan Kumaar, Dalip Tahil, Vipin Kumar A Sharma, Seema Biswas, Asif Sattar Basra, Shahab Ali, Ashlesha Thakur, Vedant Sinha, Ravindra Vijay, Devadarshini Chetan, Mime Gopi, N Alagamperumal, Anandsami and Abhay Verma in prominent roles.