Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu cried on Monday at the trailer launch event of her upcoming Telugu mythological drama Shaakuntalam. Speaking at the event, Samantha said her love for cinema hasn’t changed amid all the recent life struggles. She said she gathered all her courage to attend the event, according to a report on www.hindustantimes.com.
In Shaakuntalam, Samantha plays the central character Shakuntala, the daughter of Menaka and Viswamithra. Samantha was seen getting emotional on several occasions throughout the event. She attended the event in a white saree and matching blouse. The actor also wore glasses.
She became emotional the first time when director Gunasekhar was speaking. Several people shared the clip of Samantha crying and wrote, “We’re with you, Sam (sic).” In a video, the actor was seen crying and then wiping away her tears as she tried to smile.
In her speech, Samantha said, “No matter how many struggles I face in life, one thing won’t change. That’s how much I love cinema and cinema loves me back. I strongly believe that this love will grow manifold with Shaakuntalam."
Thanking Gunasekhar for the opportunity, Samantha said that she considers herself extremely lucky to have bagged this role. “In Indian literature history, the story of Shakuntala is one of the most memorable ones. I feel so lucky that Gunasekhar sir chose me for this character. It is truly my privilege,” she added.
The film, produced and directed by Gunasekhar, will be released in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada. It will hit the screens worldwide on February 17. This project marks Samantha’s maiden collaboration with Gunasekhar.
Last November, Samantha took to Instagram to reveal that she has been suffering from a rare auto-immune disease called Myositis. She said that she is not at a life-threatening stage of the disease. During the promotion of her last release Yashoda, Samantha turned emotional and opened up about her health condition.
“As I said in my post (Instagram), some days are good, some are bad. Some days, I felt that even taking one more step would be difficult. But when I look back, I wonder I’ve gone through so much and have come this far. I’m here to fight,” Samantha said. In the same clip, Samantha clarified she’s not at a stage where her condition is life-threatening. She will soon commence shooting for the Indian adaptation of Citadel, co-starring Varun Dhawan.