Image was shared by Vijay Deverakonda. (courtesy: thedeverakonda)
Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who are teaming up for their upcoming film Kushi after a gap of 5 years since Mahanati, attended the musical concert of the film in Hyderabad last night and set the stage on fire with their magnificent performances. While at the concert, Vijay Deverakonda had an exclusive chat with India Today where he spoke at length about his co-star Samantha's struggle with Myositis and how it prevented her from shooting for the film. The actor also revealed that Samantha's health deteriorated to the extent that she stopped talking and meeting the cast and crew of Kushi.
"In July, when I was promoting my other film, I got to know about Sam's health. Initially, she didn't talk about it. I told Sam that we are actors and that we are storytellers. I felt we did not have to talk about our struggles in the open. After a point, Samantha felt it was her responsibility to talk about her health. She stopped talking to us and she stopped seeing all of us. She was extremely unwell. She fought so many battles. At that point, she decided to share it with everyone, just to tell people that there's hope," the Liger actor said.
Vijay Deverakonda also stated that he wants Kushi to have a successful run at the box office for Samantha and the hard work she put in while filming it despite suffering internally. He said, "More than me, I want to see Samantha smile. She struggled a lot with the film. We started this film in April 2022 with a smile on our faces. We had completed 60 per cent. Only 30-35 per cent of shooting was pending. By July, Sam's health condition deteriorated. She said that her health wasn't good. Shiva and I were like "You look beautiful. What problem do you have?" We took it lightly. Later, we understood her plight."
"I know that she is not completely healthy today. She gets headaches and her eyes hurt when she faces the light. Yet, she shows up. She knows that all of you are here with your love. She dresses up, she smiles and she dances for you all. More than anyone, I want to see a big smile on her face on September 1. I feel it's my responsibility," Vijay added.
Coming back to the event last night, the Kushi co-stars performed to the film's title. Sharing the same posts from their performances on their respective social media handles, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Vijay Deverakonda wrote, "Spreading love to you all from Sept 1st." Pictures from last night were also curated by several fan pages dedicated to both stars.
Check it out:
For the unversed, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who is currently on a break from work, broke the news to her fans after wrapping the shoot of Citadel India. Uploading a post on Instagram, Samantha wrote, "A break doesn't seem like a bad thing at all when you know what's coming..."
Read the full post below:
In October last year, Samantha Ruth Prabhu updated her fans about her health condition via a moving post. Sharing an image in which she is seen dubbing for her film while an IV bag is connected to her hand, the actress confessed that it has not always been an easy journey. In her detailed note from 2022, Samantha said: “Your response to the Yashodha trailer was overwhelming. It is this love and connection that I share with all of you, that gives me the strength to deal with the seemingly unending challenges that life throws at me. A few months back I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called Myositis. I was hoping to share this after it had gone into remission. But it is taking a little longer than I hoped. I am slowly realising that we don't always need to put up a strong front. Accepting this vulnerability is something that I am still struggling with. The doctors are confident that I will make a complete recovery very soon. I have had good days and bad days…physically and emotionally. And even when it feels like I can't handle one more day of this, somehow that moment passes. I guess it can only mean that I am one more day closer to recovery. I love you…THIS TOO SHALL PASS.”
Read her full post below:
Kushi is slated to hit the theatres on September 1 and it will release in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.