Days ahead of the release of Pushpa 2, new reports have surfaced that suggest Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s exit from the much-awaited sequel to Allu Arjun’s crime-drama. Samantha gave an electrifying performance on ‘Oo Antava’ – a song that broke several records and became one of the highlights of Pushpa 1. There were rumours that Samantha will be seen making a cameo in the second instalment too, alongside Sreeleela, who has been chosen for a special dance number in the film this time. However, a recent report by Gulte.com claims that the makers have changed the plan now.
A source close to the production informed that Pushpa 2’s team considered Samantha for the song once again, but things could not materialise. Therefore, a Bollywood actress has been shortlisted to take Samantha’s place and match the dance moves with Sreeleela. The reason for Samantha’s absence is however unknown. The report further stated that the song has been composed by Devi Sri Prasad and the team hopes it will manage to create buzz just like Oo Antava.
Last minute changes in the casting have left audience shocked. Many are upset as they were excited to see Samantha back in the iconic film. A post, which is now trending on Reddit, has comments from seemingly upset fans. “So much drama over this song. Whatever this song is, it better be good lol,” read one comment. Another person questioned, “Is it new marketing strategy to stay in news? One fan defended the last minute changes and commented, “Director sukumar shoots and edits until the very last minute. He’s infamous for that but nobody seems to have an issue with that cuz eventually the movie will make great collections.”
Samantha’s deteriorating health
Meanwhile, Samantha has been busy promoting Citadel: Honey Bunny despite deteriorating health. Recently, while talking to The Hollywood Reporter, her co-star Varun Dhawan revealed that Samantha collapsed on the sets twice, creating a panic. “There were two instances when I was shooting with her and my heart literally sank. I was so worried because I remember one day when we were shooting, she just shut her eyes and said, ‘It’s just one of those days.’ We kept shooting for about two hours and after a short while, an oxygen tank is coming and she is taking oxygen on the side.”
Second incident happened when the cast was shooting in Serbia on a railway station and Samantha had to run behind Varun. “So I have run past the camera and she is still in the frame and she just collapsed. I caught her and I went to Raj and said, ‘Pack up’, and they were like, ‘Calm down. You go and stand over there. Don’t worry, she will be fine.’ I just didn’t know what to do,” Varun shared.
For the unversed, Samantha is suffering from an autoimmune disease called myositis. The actor recently slammed her trolls, who made insensitive remarks on her weight. Taking to her social media handle, Samantha wrote, ““Another weight comment. I saw an entire thread about my weight. If you guys must know, I am on a strict anti-inflammatory diet which is required for my condition, which prevents me from putting on weight, keeps in a certain weight bracket and keeps me in a sweet spot with my condition (myositis). Stop judging people. Let them be, live and let live. Please guys, it’s 2024.”
