Hyderabad: Samantha Ruth Prabhu, the popular Indian actress, recently opened up about her battle with an autoimmune condition called ‘Myositis’. The shocking revelation came during the India Today Conclave 2024, where Samantha shared her journey of resilience and vulnerability.
‘Forced to Go Public’
In 2022, Samantha was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease Myositis that affects the muscles. Speaking about the same, she said, “I was forced to go public about my disorder. At that time, I had my female-centric film due for release. I was very sick back then. It was hard and I wasn’t ready. There were all sorts of speculation going around and misinformation being spread. The producers needed me to promote it, otherwise, it (the film) would just die.”
Despite her illness, Samantha stepped forward to raise awareness about Myositis. She even became the brand ambassador for Myositis India.
During the interview, Samantha candidly shared her inner struggle. “So, I agreed to do one interview. Obviously, I didn’t look the same. I had high doses of medication to keep me stable. I was forced to. Given a choice, I wouldn’t have come out and announced it. I was called sympathy queen by the public. My journey as an actor, as a human being, I have evolved so much. Early on in my career, I was anxious and go up (online) looking for nasty articles and what was being written about me.”
In 2022, Samantha Ruth Prabhu took to the social media platform Instagram to share that she has been diagnosed with a rare condition called myositis which has resulted in her being hospitalized.
‘People accused me of things,’ says Samantha
But adversity transformed Samantha. She evolved, finding strength in vulnerability. “The more people accused me of things, I started to almost question every question every thought of mine. They have forced me to become the person that I can be proud of. When people are going through a lot of pain, they need a portal to project it. And social media is that portal I guess. I do really think that.”
On the work front, Samantha, who made her Hindi debut with ‘The Family Man 2’ in 2021, will next be seen in the Indian spin-off of the American TV series ‘Citadel’. It also stars Varun Dhawan, Sikandar Kher, Kay Kay Menon and Saqib Saleem. She was last seen in Kushi co-starring Vijay Deverakonda.
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