Jun 24, 2026 1:36pm IST
Samantha Ruth Prabhu: ‘The Problem Isn’t A Female Film, We Haven’t Given The Audience Enough Of It’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu has created history with her first solo female-driven film, “Maa Inti Bangaram,” that crossed Rs 50 crore (gross) at the worldwide box office today. In an exclusive interview with Variety India, Samantha, who has co-produced this film along with her director husband Raj Nidimoru, talks about the challenges behind this remarkable journey.
‘Maa Inti Bangaaram” is your biggest hit and most successful solo film so far. Are you feeling validated?
I don't think it has fully sunk in, as yet. We made this film on an extremely tight budget. There were hard and difficult days as we wanted to keep the number of shoot days as few as possible. Before the release, we were not sure about recovering the budget because we had no clue if we were going to sell even one ticket. Because that's the state of this industry right now. Yes. One can never tell what works and what does not work. We just have to believe and trust that you're making a film for the right reasons and hope to God that it's good enough.
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Do you think now, upcoming movies like “Alpha” and “Shakti Shalini” are going to benefit from your success, and there will be a demand for more female-driven characters?
I don't think that there was ever, never a demand. The female audiences were always there to come and appreciate a film. It's just that the female stars weren't offered the film. There weren't enough films offered to them. Like there's one “Alpha” coming after a really long time, right? So, I don't think that the problem is the female films. It's just that we haven't been giving the audience enough of it.
Ironically, many female A-list actors are headlining OTT series where their roles are well-defined. So, why is it assumed that only male stars can draw in audiences in movie halls?
I think the larger-than-life aspect of the male entertainer is what creates this perception. And we wanted to flip this on its head. “Maa Inti Bangaram” is a female-led commercial entertainer that has all the elements of a male action entertainer. We did this on purpose. The story around the female protagonist was designed that way. Today, if I'm getting this unanimous positive response for my character and the way I played it, it’s simply because it was designed by the makers to be that way.
How demanding was this role for you, physically and emotionally?
If you think that change is required, you have to take the plunge. And I don't think you can go halfway when you're taking a risk. You really have to give it your all. Which means doing the long 12-hour-shift days. I remember shooting the bus action sequence, some filler scenes and the climax, all in one day. You have to do your very best because you would never know, right? Like, if something didn't work, you would think, ‘Okay, I could have done this better.’ So, I just did not want to leave anything to chance this time. From the filming to the marketing of the film to every decision that was made around the film had our 100 percent.
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