Sameera Reddy

Sameera Reddy (born 14 December 1978) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu language films. She made her film debut with the 2002 film Maine Dil Tujhko Diya. Sameera is best known for starring in films such as Darna Mana Hai, Musafir (2004), Jai Chiranjeeva (2005), Taxi No. 9211 (2006), Ashok (2006), Race (2008), Vaaranam Aayiram (2008), De Dana Dan (2009), Aakrosh (2010), Nadunisi Naaygal (2011), Vettai (2012) and Tezz (2012).

Early life Sameera Reddy was born on 14 December 1978 in Bombay (present day Mumbai), Maharashtra to a Telugu father and a Mangalorean Konkani mother. Her mother Nakshatra, referred to as Niki by her daughters and the media, was a microbiologist and worked with an NGO. She has two older sisters, Meghna, a former VJ and supermodel, and Sushama, a Bollywood actress and model. She attended the Bombay Scottish School in Mumbai and graduated from Sydenham College.

Sameera Reddy described herself as a "tomboy" and "the ugly duckling in the family", while citing: "I was plump, had glasses and my glam quotient was rather low till I was 19." She was meant to make her debut as an actress in Saravana Subbiah's Tamil film Citizen, during the early 2000s, but eventually did not feature. She made her screen debut in the 2002 Hindi film Maine Dil Tujhko Diya opposite Sohail Khan. It was a box office failure. Film critic Taran Adarsh noted, "Sameera is plain mediocre. She needs to polish her acting skills, work on her facial expressions and improve diction."

Following her debut, Sameera Reddy earned recognition with her performance in the films: Darna Mana Hai (2003), Musafir (2004), Jai Chiranjeeva (2005), Taxi No. 9211 (2006), Ashok (2006), Race (2008), Vaaranam Aayiram (2008), De Dana Dan (2009), Aakrosh (2010), Nadunisi Naaygal (2011), Vettai (2012) and Tezz (2012). In 2013, Sameera appeared in the Kannada film Varadhanayaka opposite Sudeepa. The film was a box office success and following this Sameera Reddy took a break from acting. In 2024, her long delayed film Naam was released, where she appeared opposite Ajay Devgn.

In Taxi No. 9211, she played a businessman's lover opposite John Abraham. It was a box office success. In Race, she played a police officer's assistant alongside Anil Kapoor. The film emerged as the fifth-highest-grossing Hindi film of 2008. Taran Adarsh noted, "Sameera Reddy excels as the dumb girl. It's a tough job and she does well." Reddy earned acclaim for her playing a college topper in Vaaranam Aayiram opposite Suriya. The film was one of the highest grossing Tamil film of 2008 and got her recognition in South India. Pavithra Srinivasan noted, "Sameera is full of life and creates a pang in your heart." A critic from Sify stated she brings an "uninhibited joie" to her role.

Sameera Reddy played a Punjabi woman in De Dana Dan opposite Suniel Shetty. It became one of the highest grossing Hindi film of 2009. She played a psychopath's victim in Nadunisi Naaygal opposite Veera, which emerged a surprise success at the box office. Gautaman Bhaskaran found it to be her "career-best" performance. In Vettai, Reddy played a talkative wife of a police officer opposite R. Madhavan. Malathi Rangarajan stated, "While Sameera performs well, she could have had a better makeover." It emerged a commercial success.

Personal life Sameera Reddy married Akshai Varde, an entrepreneur, on 21 January 2014, in a traditional Maharashtrian ceremony. They have a son and daughter.

Being a fan of American talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey, Sameera Reddy met and presented a saree to Winfrey during her visit to India.

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In Rediff.coms "Best Tamil Actresses" list, Sameera Reddy was placed 4th in 2011. In the Times Most Desirable Women list, Sameera Reddy was placed 33rd in 2009, 26th in 2010 and 29th in 2011. Femina also placed her in its "50 Most Beautiful Women" list. Sameera Reddy is the first Indian actress to have her own video game, named, Sameera: The Street Fighter. Sameera Reddy also judged the Miss Sri Lanka Online contest in 2012.

Filmography Films Year Title Role(s) Language Notes 2002 Maine Dil Tujhko Diya Ayesha Verma Hindi 2003 Darna Mana Hai Shruti 2004 Plan Sapna Musafir Sam 2005 Narasimhudu Parvathy Telugu Casualty Anita English BBC Medical drama Jai Chiranjeeva Sailaja Telugu No Entry Beach girl Hindi Cameo appearance 2006 Taxi Number 9211 Rupali Ashok Anjali Telugu Naksha Riya Hindi 2007 Migration Divya Short film Fool & Final Payal Khanna Ami, Yasin Ar Amar Madhubala Rekha Bengali 2008 Race Mini D'Souza Hindi One Two Three Laila Kaalpurush Supriya Bengali Vaaranam Aayiram Meghna Tamil Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Debut Actress 2009 De Dana Dan Manpreet Oberoi Hindi 2010 Aasal Sarah Tamil Oru Naal Varum Meera Malayalam Red Alert: The War Within Lakshmi Hindi Aakrosh Special appearance in song "Isak Se Meetha" 2011 Nadunisi Naaygal Sukanya Tamil Vedi Parvathi 2012 Vettai Vasanthi Thirumurthy Tezz Megha Hindi Chakravyuh Special appearance in the song "Kunda Khola" Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum Telugu Special appearance in the song "Sai Andri Nanu" 2013 Varadhanayaka Lakshmi Kannada 2024 Naam Lovely Hindi Delayed release;Filmed in 2004 2026 Aakhri Sawal Pallavi Menon Hindi

Music videos Year Title Singer(s) Album 1998 "Ahista" Pankaj Udhas Stolen Moments 2000 "Tere Aane Ki Jab Khabar Mehke" Jagjit Singh Saher

Video games Year Title Role 2006 Sameera: The Street Fighter Ancient Warrior Princess