Earlier this year, Samantha Akkineni’s portrayal of the steely yet empathetic antagonist Raji in Season 2 of the smash-hit web series The Family Man won her a huge amount of praise. This week, the accolades translated into an award for the 34-year-old actor who bagged the Best Performance Female (series) trophy at the prestigious Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), which conducted its 12th edition virtually. Samantha had company in her The Family Man co-star Manoj Bajpayee, who also won Best Performance Male (series).
A few days after the win, The Telegraph caught up for a chat with Samantha — who has featured in a host of notable Tamil and Telugu films — on the win, playing Raji, being married into a film family (Samantha is married to actor Naga Chaitanya, who is the son of superstar Nagarjuna) and more.
Congratulations for the win at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. You are no stranger to awards as well as to praise from the audience. What do awards mean to you?
Awards are very encouraging and they are also kind of an approval, right? As an actor, you really need to be told that you are moving forward in the right direction in your career, that you are making the right decisions when it comes to picking your roles. In career, as well as in life, the goal always is to get better, do better, evolve and grow, and I think awards play a big role in terms of approval.
The Family Man was my debut in the digital space and to get this award for a show that has made a mark pan-India is special. It’s a huge show that’s known all over, and it’s suddenly opened up new doors and new audiences for me. It’s amazing and I feel humbled. Honestly, I didn’t expect this kind of appreciation.
Your character Raji polarised certain sections of the audience, but everyone was unanimous that your performance was top notch. When you were making it, did you expect Raji to have the kind of impact that she did?
When I started shooting for Season 2, the first season of The Family Man hadn’t even released! It actually released after we shot a large part of the second season. When Season 1 released and it practically exploded, I was so happy that I had made the right decision, and that I was going to be part of a superhit show.
But I never expected the role of Raji to turn out the way it did, and to be loved the way it was. I did my best to portray her as just not another villain, but humanise her suffering and her trauma as best as I could.
Samantha Akkineni as Raji in The Family Man Season 2, streaming on Amazon Prime Video Sourced by the correspondent
How much of Raji came from the script and how much from you?
I worked with an absolutely phenomenal team. Raj & DK (creators of The Family Man) are amazing and the writers of the show really know what they are doing. Raji is a character close to their hearts and half the work for me was already done on paper. So far, in general, I have done very easygoing and happy-go-lucky roles. For Raji, I really had to dig deep, you know. The role didn’t require me to say a lot of dialogues. I had to show it through my eyes, my expressions and in my body language. Watching a lot of documentaries helped, so did real-life footage, which made me realise the pain and suffering that someone like Raji might have gone through. I did my best to empathise with her.
What’s the best thing you have been told about your performance as Raji, and considering a web series is around for posterity, the praise must be coming in even now?
A few days after it released, just the number of calls and messages from my peers in Bollywood was something that was special. I think this is the largest amount of feedback, and the most appreciation that I have received from the film fraternity in the 11 years that I have been in the business.
Before The Family Man S2 released and became the phenomenon that it became, were there any apprehensions about making your Hindi debut in a web series rather than in a film?
Not really. I only make choices based on my greed as an actor. I haven’t ever made calculated choices based on star, image and medium, things that would have probably propelled me to become a bigger star. I have always made decisions based on what I believe will challenge me as an actor. These choices have created the star image that I have and not the other way round.
Can we expect a Bollywood film from you anytime soon?
Yes. The Family Man has really given me a lot of confidence and I am open to accepting challenges in any language. I think the time has come (smiles).
Samantha with (L-R) father-in-law Nagarjuna, mother-in-law Amala and husband Naga Chaitanya
You have always spoken about the importance of believing. Even your social media posts frequently emphasise the word ‘believe’. How much has self-belief played a role in the kind of person and actor that you are today?
I think I have had a fairy-tale life. I come from very humble beginnings and got into the film industry without a godfather. I have made all my choices on my own. I had no idea about the film industry when I came in, and even in the first few years that I was in the business. I have relied on my gut for every call that I have made in these 11 years (smiles). There is undoubtedly a strong sense of belief involved in those decisions. Belief that I can do better, not just as an actor but as a person as well, is what I have based my entire life on.
You came in without a godfather, but now you are married into one of India’s most prominent film families, where almost everyone is involved in the business of movie-making. Do most of the conversations in the Akkineni home revolve around films?
It’s never about films! (Laughs) It’s about everything else apart from films. I would like to think that we are a normal family (laughs), just like everyone else.