Bollywood actress Sameera Reddy has made a big impact with her first Kollywood movie Vaaranam Aayiram opposite Surya. It’s a breathtaking movie that everyone should see and Sameera has received extensive critical acclaim. The film also stars Simran and Ramya. How did Sameera find working in Tamil? “When I first came to Chennai for the shoot, I heard the language and thought it was pretty difficult. I used to write down my lines and learn them before every shot and it was like going back to school.”
Part of the movie was made in San Francisco. What are her memories of that? “It was very cold but we had a great time shooting there. It was during that time, that Surya had a baby and he was shopping like mad for his little daughter.”
The film industries in the South are slowly getting better at tapping into the NRI market and VA will be released this weekend simultaneously in twenty American cities. In addition, in another sign that film iconography is developing in a multimedia context, Sameera has signed an agreement with Nazara Technologies to allow them to develop mobile content based on her image – the agreement will see Nazara develop wallpapers, ringtones, games, competitions, video clips and fiction all using Sameera’s voice and image – she has in effect just become a brand.
Sameera has a number of Bollywood movies in her past including Musafir, Darna Mana Hai, Taxi No.9211, No Entry, Race and One Two Three. She is currently filming Naam. However, her heart is in the South and she is looking forward to being in Yeh Khosla, Surangani and Dan Dana Dan in the near future. Surangani is said to be loosely based on the Monica Bedi affair with Sameera taking on the role of Ragini, or ‘Monica’.
