‘Citadel pushing me to my maximum capabilities’

Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu said that she was excited to reunite with her ‘The Family Man’ directors Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK for the Indian chapter of ‘Citadel’. The globe-trotting spy drama is a complete package full of action and emotion.

The 35-year-old actor stars alongside Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan in the Indian original series within the ‘Citadel’ franchise, whose flagship show, featuring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden, launches on ‘Amazon Prime Video’ on April 28.

“I am privileged to work with Raj and DK again. They are at the top of their game. They gave me such an amazing character with Raji in ‘The Family Man 2’,” the actor told the top news agency in an interview.

She added, “With ‘Citadel’ we are pushing the boundaries even further. With action and emotions, it is quite a package. It is like working with a family as there is an equal amount of fun and challenge.”

Billed as a ‘local original spy series’, the project hails from ‘Amazon Prime Video’ and AGBO, the production banner co-founded by the Hollywood filmmaking duo Russo Brothers.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu said that even though her health posed a major challenge, she enjoyed doing action for ‘Citadel’. She is grateful to the team for being patient and understanding with her. The actor was diagnosed with myositis, an autoimmune condition, in October last year.

“Physically, the show is very intense. There is a lot of action in ‘Citadel’ and we recently shot something and we are very happy and proud to show it to the world, I am really looking forward to that,” said the actor.

The ‘Yashoda’ star added, “Considering the challenges that I am facing health-wise, I am glad I am able to do what I am doing in ‘Citadel’. Everyone is being patient and kind and I am truly grateful for that.”

Asked whether she took special precautions to avoid injuries during the action sequences, Samantha Ruth Prabhu said that she has often been warned for not being too careful in such scenes.

“I am the worst at that. I just think, ‘I just have to go and do my best’. I have been told by other actors, ‘It is not cool. You should be better prepared. You should protect yourself better’,” she shared.

Samantha further added, “But I am all very eager to dive into it, especially for a girl to do action and it is not really every day that you get the tag that ‘she is good at action’. So, now you want to do better and you want to push it and you don’t want that tag to go away. I think that is what is pushing me to my maximum capabilities.”

The Indian Original ‘Citadel’ series marks the streaming debut of Varun Dhawan.

Working with the ‘Bhediya’ star, Samantha Ruth Prabhu said, has turned out to be a great collaborative experience, as they both often push each other to perform their best.

“He is an amazing actor and a very good human being. I have worked well whenever there is good camaraderie between myself and my co-star. So, it is an absolute pleasure to work with him and we say to each other, ‘The scene came out well’ and he would say, ‘I felt it too’. So, it is working out really well,” she added.

Samantha revealed that she has seen the sneak peek of the American version of ‘Citadel’, which features Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden.

“I have seen a little bit of it. It is going to be great,” she said.

Reportedly, Samantha Ruth Prabhu has been signed by producer Dinesh Vijan’s ‘Maddock Films’ for a feature film opposite Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana. There is also the buzz that she has been roped in for a mythological film with Akshay Kumar and Karan Johar.

Without commenting on her future Hindi projects, Samantha Ruth Prabhu said that her focus is on ‘Citadel’ and the Telugu romantic-comedy ‘Kushi’ with Vijay Deverakonda.

“I am focusing on the projects that I have, like ‘Citadel’ and ‘Kushi’ and my health, which is at the centre stage right now. As of now, I am looking to complete the projects that I have in hand,” she said.

The actor added, “I look forward to the roles that I have been given. It doesn’t matter to me which language it is in. What matters most is what I have to offer at my best.”

Samantha Ruth Prabhu further said that the character should challenge her as an actor for her to give a nod to any film. The language, she added, doesn’t matter to her.

“It doesn’t matter which language it is (film or show). What matters the most is the meat of the character. Do I see myself? Do I see a challenge in it?” she added.

The actor is currently awaiting the release of her pan-Indian movie ‘Shaakuntalam’.

The Telugu film, based on Kalidasa’s acclaimed Sanskrit play ‘Abhijnana Shakuntalam’, is billed as a whimsical tale that revolves around the epic love story of Shakuntala (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) and King Dushyant, played by actor Dev Mohan of ‘Sufiyum Sujatayum’ fame.

Directed by Gunasekhar, the movie is set to be released in theatres on April 14.

The mythological film is presented by filmmaker Dil Raju via ‘Sri Venkateswara Creations’ in collaboration with ‘Gunaa Teamworks’ and is produced by Neelima Guna.