Happy Birthday Samantha Akkineni: From Ye Maaya Chesave to Jaanu; A look at her struggle, setbacks and success

One of the popular actresses in the South Indian film industry, Samantha Akkineni turns a year older today, April 28 and fans have been showering her with birthday wishes on social media. Known for powerful performance on the big screens in the films like Oh! Baby, Super Deluxe and Jaanu among others, Samantha Akkineni has proved the ability to channelise all kinds of emotions with her characters. The stunner began her acting career with Gautham Menon’s Ye Maaya Chesave opposite Naga Chaitanya in 2009 and has left an everlasting impact on the audience with her role as Jessie even after a decade. 

In no time, she became a heartthrob for Telugu moviegoers, however, Sam doesn't consider Ye Maaya Chesave as one of best roles. “I couldn’t speak a word in Telugu when I signed the film and I was too busy memorising my lines to even remember what I was doing in front of the camera,” Samantha once said in an interview. 

ALSO READ: Samantha Akkineni is a water baby and these PHOTOS are proof; Check it out

Post her debut, Samantha went to work with several top directors and actors including SS Rajamouli, Trivikram Srinivas, Mahesh Babu, Ram Charan, and Allu Arjun among others. The actress did make some wrong choices and witnessed a few flops at the box office in the initial years of her career. However, she bounced back and focused on her career after facing health issues. 

“In the midst of my career, I made some wrong choices thinking that I need to shed my cute-girl image, and that backfired a lot. It took me a while to convince myself to build upon what people already like about me and after that, things got a lot better,” the actress said during an interview. 

The turning point of her career when she signed SS Rajamouli’s 2012 fantasy drama, Eega. The film did pretty well. However, 2012 wasn't a year for Samantha Akkineni after her acting career hit a roadblock abruptly due to low immune system. 

However, in the next few years, Sam witnessed some flops and hits including Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu, Atharintiki Daredhi, Jabardasth and Ramayya Vastavayya, Alludu Seenu, Rabhasa, Manam and Autonagar Surya. 

In 2015, she collaborated with Trivikram Srinivas for the second time in S/O Satyamurthy. The film starred Allu Arjun in the male lead role. The gorgeous actress managed to grab all the attention over her not-too-glamorous role of Rama Lakshmi in Ram Charan starrer Rangasthalam. She started taking up big-budget films and proved her ability in films like U-turn, Mahanati, Oh! Baby, Majili, Super Deluxe and Jaanu. 

However, for years, one of the roles that will always be remembered is in Nandini Reddy’s Oh! Baby. 

Here's wishing the powerful performer and fashionista of Telugu film industry a very Happy Birthday!!!!