After a year-and-a-half break from acting, Samantha takes a leap of faith into film production with her debut venture Subham. Set to release on May 9, the actress-turned-producer opens up about trusting her inner voice, launching her own production house, and giving newcomers a platform—while also reflecting on risk-taking, fair pay, and her enduring passion for cinema
Suresh Kavirayani
sureshkavirayani@gmail.com
Samantha is one of the top actresses in the South, and over the last one-and-a-half years, she took a break and didn’t sign any Telugu film. But she wanted to do something meaningful—so she decided to produce a film. She started her own production house, and her first project, Subham, is hitting the screens on May 9. In this interview, she talks about her journey into production and her future plans.
“As a producer, I feel extremely nervous about this Friday. I have come to understand how much hard work goes into making a film. I have newfound respect for the crew—the process of filmmaking is very hard. But I’ve received positive feedback about my film, and I’m also excited,” she said.
“I’ve received a lot of appreciation for my acting and have fans too, but in my heart, I’ve always wanted to do something more. I took a break for nearly one and a half years and realised I wanted to listen to my inner voice. During that time, my friends would visit my house, and we had a lot of discussions about production,” she shared, on what led her to step into producing. “I felt my experience as an actor would definitely help me run a production house well,” said Samantha.
The actress shared that if she was producing a film, she didn’t want to act in it. “Director Gautham Menon gave me a chance in his film when I was a newcomer. So I felt that for my first production, I wanted to give a chance to new faces,” said Samantha, who has taken on mostly new talent in her film.
She adds that many of them made sacrifices to enter the film industry. “One person left his engineering job, one girl left the USA to pursue her dream of becoming an actor. Some people sacrificed a lot to be a part of this journey. I feel proud when I watch these people,” said Samantha.
She noted that while she now sits with big stars discussing Rs 800 crore or Rs 1,000 crore collections and industry hits, seeing these newcomers reminded her of her debut days.
Samantha has also done a cameo in Subham. “Actually, I didn’t want to ask anyone for a favour, so I did the cameo myself,” she said, adding that it’s an impactful role. “Since most of the cast are newcomers, I wanted to ensure everyone received equal pay,” said the actress.
The industry is currently in a slump, and many producers are hesitant to back new films. So why did she choose to start now? “When I do something big, I have to take some risks. It would’ve been safe to continue acting, but my inner voice didn’t stop—so I started producing,” said the actress.
On managing the film’s budget, she said, “We’ve made the film on a respectable budget—it’s neither over-budgeted nor very small. People often believe serials more than cinema these days, but this isn’t just a simple horror comedy—it leaves an impact. The audience will definitely feel something special.” She adds that people will enjoy the film from beginning to end.
Reflecting on the challenges of becoming a producer, she said, “Once I become successful as a producer, then I’ll talk more about the difficulties.” She added that she always follows her heart, not the paycheck. “Whether it’s a role or something else—I always follow my heart.” Samantha is currently acting in Maa Inti Bangaram, which is also her home production. Speaking about Atlee and Allu Arjun, she said that Atlee is a good friend, but she is not part of any Allu Arjun project. “I may work with Atlee in the near future,” she added.
When asked about the American President’s announcement of new tariffs on foreign films, which could affect Indian films, she said, “It hasn’t been implemented yet, but let’s wait and see—he changes his mind every week,” she said.
On her personal life, she clearly stated, “What I’ve understood is that I should not talk about my personal life.”
Talking about pickleball, she said it’s a brilliant idea. “For the last five years, my business partner Himank has been managing my production work as well. He’s a sports fanatic and I’m a health fanatic. People need to play sports and exercise, so I feel this is the perfect fitness sport. It’s growing rapidly,” said the actress. She added that they made a significant investment, and in just one year, it has grown tremendously. Reacting to reports of people building a temple for her, she said, “I don’t want to encourage this kind of love. I appreciate their affection, but I don’t like the idea of temples being built for me.”
“My dream is that equal skill and equal experience should get equal pay. I could easily manage it with this film because most of them are newcomers, so everyone got equal pay. My lead actor had done one film before, so he has experience and received a different pay. I don’t know if I can do this with every film, but I definitely want to try in the near future,” she said.
When asked whether she’s happier as a producer or actress, she answered, “Definitely as an actress—because I get a lot of appreciation for that work.”
