Samantha

Samantha Ruth Prabhu is an Indian film actress and model who appears in Tamil and Telugu films. Born to Malayali and Telugu parents, Samantha was brought up in Tamil Nadu and pursued a career in modelling during her late teens. Despite signing up to Ravi Varman's Moscowin Kaveri in 2007, her first release happened to be the critically acclaimed 2010 Telugu romance film, Ye Maaya Chesave, directed by Gautham Menon

Born on April 28, 1987 to a Malayali mother and a Telugu father, Samantha was brought up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu as the youngest child of the family featuring two elder brothers, whilst becoming fluent in the Tamil language. Despite her mixed regional background, Samantha has cited that she sees herself as a Tamilian, as she was brought up speaking Tamil and English at home. As a part of her education, Samantha completed a degree in commerce at Stella Maris College, Chennai.

Despite signing up for three Tamil films in quick succession, Samantha's first release was Indira Productions' Gautham Menon directed romance film, Ye Maaya Chesave. The film, a simultaneous remake of the Tamil film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, created much anticipation prior to release, primarily due to the first-time-collaboration between Menon and composer A. R. Rahman. The actress was signed up for the project in mid August 2009 and completed schedules across India and the United States for the film which released in February 2010. The film portrays Samantha as the lead character of Jessie, which was also the working title of the film; a Malayali Christian girl living inHyderabad, whom the male protagonist, played by Naga Chaitanya falls in love with. 

Upon release, Samantha received very positive reviews for her portrayal, with the film also garnering much critical acclaim. Critics at Sify claimed that Samantha was the "scene-stealer" and her beauty "is alluring" adding that "she was the girl to watch out for". Jeevi, from the Idlebrain reviews site, cited that "Samantha’s debut is one of the best heroine debuts in Telugu cinema" and that her "minute expressions she gave spoke volumes about her", whilst labelling the film as a "classic". Samantha, alongside her co-star, Naga Chaitanya, also appeared in a guest appearance in the Tamil version of the film. Both films emerged as grand successes whilst becoming trendsetters in Tamil and Telugu respectively, propelling Samantha to sign bigger projects. She followed up her collaborations with Gautham Menon and A. R. Rahman by appearing in the music video for the World Classical Tamil Conference 2010 promotional song, Semmozhiyaana Tamizh Mozhiyaam, which Menon directed and Rahman composed.

Ravi Varman's Moscowin Kaveri began in August 2007, with Samantha, then briefly known as Yasodha, joining the team later in the yearThe film introduced a host of new actors, with music carried out by Thaman, then making his debut in music composing. In an interview, much prior to release in 2008, Ravi Varman mentioned that he had decided that Samantha would be the lead actress for his film within three minutes after viewing one of her commercial assignments. In the interview, he went on to describe her as an actress with "intelligence" and "potential", whilst drawing comparisons with noted actress, Revathi. However, due to Ravi Varman's date conflicts with his projects as a cinematographer, the film is still languishing in development hell, but is likely to release during 2010. Samantha also signed up for theNarain starrer, Pookada Ravi in August 2008 to play the lead role of a modern girl. Despite the film, continuing schedules at regular intervals, the film was stalled  throughout 2009 and is unlikely to be released. The third film signed by Samantha was the romantic drama,Baana Kaathadi, opposite Adharvaa. Following agreeing terms in early 2009, the film has continued shoot for a year and a release is likely later in 2010. Samantha is said to play a student of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), the first such role in Tamil cinema.Samantha has also recently signed Vamsi Paidipally's Brindaavanam in which she has a supporting role alongside NTR Jr and Kajal Aggarwal, whilst also agreeing to be a part of Mahesh Babu's next film.