Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu recently opened up on her struggle with the autoimmune disease myositis. She spoke about losing control over how she looked during the diagnosis of her disease. She said on some days, she would wake up with pins and needles in her eyes. Sam took a break from working last year when she received her diagnosis while shooting her Telugu film ‘Kushi.’
Speaking about the effects of myositis on her body, she said, “As an actor, you are always expected to display perfection, perfection on Instagram, and perfection in your films. Earlier, I also could never let it go and just accept who I am. I have always wanted to be better and better, look better and better. Finally, now I am at a place where I have no control over this condition.”
Speaking about the side effects of the condition on her body, she said, “One day I am puffy, one day I am fat, one day I am sick. I have no control over how I look. As an actor, your eyes are a medium to express emotions and every day, I wake up with pins and needles in my eyes. I am sensitive to light. I don’t wear glasses just for fun and style, the light actually affects my eyes. I have an intense migraine, and I have intense pain in my eyes, they swell from the pain and this has been the case for the past 8 months. This is probably the worst thing to happen to an actor.”
In ‘Shaakuntalam,’ Samantha plays the central character Shakuntala, the daughter of Menaka and Viswamithra. The film, produced and directed by Gunasekhar, will be released in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada on April 14.