Samantha Akkineni Birthday Special! 8 Top-notch performances of the versatile actress

Popular actress of South cinema, Samantha Akkineni is celebrating her 33rd birthday on April 28 (Tuesday). If the current situation would have been normal, she might have headed off to a foreign destination along with Naga Chaitanya and had a blast. However, with the outbreak of coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown, the fashionista of Tollywood is spending her quarantine at home with her celebrity husband and pet doggo Hash. A couple of days ago, Tamannaah Bhatia unveiled the Common DP for Sam’s birthday and netizens are all set to make it big on social media.

Samantha has recently completed a decade in the Telugu film industry. After walking down the aisle with her long-time boyfriend, she altered her strategy by showing affinity towards content-driven flicks. From Mahanati, U Turn and Super Deluxe to Oh! Baby and Jaanu, she is pushing her boundaries as an actress by exploring different shades. On her birthday, check out the 8 top-notch performances of Samantha.

Samantha Akkineni made her celluloid debut opposite Naga Chaitanya in Ye Maya Chesave. Bankrolled by Mahesh Babu’s sister Manjula Ghattamaneni, the romantic-drama has recently completed a decade at the ticket counters. Besides delivering the first box-office hit to Chay, the Gautham Menon directorial showcased the Chennai beauty as the confused girl Jessie and with her kohl-rimmed eyes, beatific smile and sizzling chemistry with the protagonist; she managed to strike the right chord in her first stride itself.

‘Majili’ is the story of a failed cricketer Poorna (Naga Chaitanya) who goes through heartbreak and depression after his first love Anshu (Divyanka Kaushik) is forced to leave him. Sravani (Samantha) happens to be his neighbour and she has been in love with Poorna since high school days. She decides to marry him and despite his negligence towards her, she ‘unconditionally’ loves him and takes in all the mental agony caused by her husband with no complaint. However, things get interesting when Poorna decides to teach cricket to Anshu’s daughter Meera. Besides the crackling chemistry between Chay and Sam, the Shiva Nirvana directorial worked wonders at the BO due to the emotional connect in the storyline and Gopi Sunder’s soothing music.

Following impeccable performances in films like U Turn, Super Deluxe and Majili, Samantha proved her mettle once again as a complete actress with Oh! Baby. Though the family-drama is the official remake of South Korean film ‘Miss Granny’, director Nandini Reddy did a splendid job by bringing the nativity factor into the plot and extracting commendable performances from her star cast. Along with Sam, seasoned actors like Lakshmi, Rajendra Prasad and Rao Ramesh have nailed their roles to perfection and entertained the audience big time. The film showcased the story of a 70-year-old grandma who magically finds herself in the body of her 25-year-old self after clicking a picture in a mysterious studio.

Termed as a genius when it comes to technical aspects of filmmaking, Rajamouli bagged glowing praises as a distinctive creator when he turned a common housefly into a hero for Eega. Though everyone knew the wafer-thin storyline before the release itself, the fantasy-action film kept the audience hooked throughout its runtime with an engaging screenplay, stunning VFX and the convincing performances of Samantha and Sudeep. For starters, the fly was added to the frames using computer-graphics after the entire film was shot. Released as a Tamil-Telugu bilingual, Eega went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the year with several accolades and awards. Rajamouli managed to acquire national recognition with the Hindi dubbed version titled Makkhi.

Besides creating a sensation in the Telugu states, Sukumar’s Rangasthalam has recorded some incredible numbers in the overseas market too. Set against the hinterlands of Andhra Pradesh, the rustic revenge-drama had a compelling script, engaging screenplay, strong characterisations, foot-tapping songs, rich production values and terrific performances from the entire star cast. Samantha proved to be a revelation in her not-too-glamorous and yet captivating role of Rama Lakshmi.

Yeto Vellipoyindi Manasu reunited Samantha and Gautham Menon after the memorable Ye Maya Chesave. Starring Natural Star Nani in the lead role, the musical romantic-drama fared well at the ticket counters and Sam went a step further from her famous portrayal of Jessie and brought out the intricacy of her character well. She looked gorgeous throughout the film in Nalini Sriram’s costumes and fitted the bill as a teenager during the high school portions too.

Regarded as the fitting tribute to ANR by Nagarjuna & Co, Manam left the audience mesmerised with its heart touching story, brilliant performances and soulful music. Despite having a limited screen presence, Nageswara Rao excelled like no other in the role of Nagarjuna and showcased his ease in expressing varied emotions like that of a kid’s naughtiness, a brooding son, and a stern-yet-funny grandfather. Samantha looked picture-perfect in both her roles of Krishnaveni and Priya in the Vikram Kumar directorial.

Dookudu marked the maiden collaboration of Samantha and Mahesh Babu. Helmed by Srinu Vaitla, the action-comedy registered a phenomenal success at the box-office and pushed Sam into the big league of Tollywood. She played her part well in the leading lady’s role and fired up the frame with her hot dance moves in songs like Chulbuli Chulbuli and Dethadi Dethadi. Her navel show has also sent the masses into frenzy.