Samantha Akkineni’s decision to drop her last name on social media, instead choosing to just go by S, sparked rumours that her relationship with actor-husband Naga Chaitanya had hit a rough patch. The duo, christened ChaySam by fans, married in 2017 in a private wedding.
Now, Samantha has spoken to Film Companion about being trolled for her decision. The actor said she did not respond to trolls — be it for those who trolled her for The Family Man or this. She added that she didn’t react to such noise and didn’t intend to do so either despite prods to respond.
She said everyone wanted her to respond during The Family Man issue. There were nearly 65,000 tweets criticising her, but she said she would speak only when she had to and felt like. Samantha added that she would not be bulldozed into saying something.
The Family Man 2 stirred controversy amid claims that the makers portrayed Tamil people negatively. However, the show was well received across India.
Samantha also expressed her desire for a challenging role in any language.
She said that she had been scared of a new industry, which she thought was alien to her. However, she is now trying to knock off all her insecurities and finding her feet in the South.
As a result, stepping into a new atmosphere was scary. However, the response to The Family Man and the praise for her from north India had encouraged her to accept new challenges in whatever language.
Samantha said she was still a hungry actor looking for the next challenge and was open to any challenge, wherever it might come from.
As for Naga Chaitanya, the actor will follow in his wife’s footsteps and make his debut in Bollywood with the Aamir Khan-starrer Laal Singh Chaddha, a remake of Forrest Gump.