Sameera Reddy opens up on her underwater photoshoot when she was pregnant

Actress Sameera Reddy's entry into Tamil cinema fans could not have been any better, especially after she played one among the female leads in Suriya's 2008 blockbuster, Vaaranam Aayiram, under Gautham Menon's direction. Having appeared in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films, Sameera's popularity in Tamil shot up further after she acted in 'Thala' Ajith's Asal, Vishal's Vedi and the Madhavan-Arya starrer, Vettai. Having entered wedlock to entrepreneur Akshai Reddy Varde in 2014, Sameera has been blessed with two children - a boy and a girl. Sameera, who maintains a private life with her family, had made her entry in social media, and has since been interacting with fans and also offering various forms of advice and motivation in terms of lifestyle, fitness and so on. 

Now, Sameera has opened up on why she posted pictures from an underwater bikini photoshoot she had done when she was eight months pregnant with her second child. In a detailed post on her Instagram page, the popular actress wrote, "When I got pregnant with Hans, my son, I thought that I’d be one of those page 3 moms posing away for the shutterbugs with a perfect bump.My vision of motherhood came from the glam world that I was from. But 9 months later, I weighed 105 kgs. And even as I held my gorgeous son, I didn’t feel happy; I slipped into postpartum depression.Akshai, my husband did it all–from changing the diapers to feeding the baby. And all I could think was how other actresses could bounce back in just a month! My mom-in-law said, 'Your baby is healthy, you have a supportive husband, why are you upset?' I had no answer." 

The pan-Indian actress continued, "After I was discharged, I cried; I also felt guilty for not being there for Hans.This continued for a year–I’d break down often. I was completely cut off from the film industry. I still weighed 105 kgs & was diagnosed with Alopecia areata; patches of hair fell out of my head.That’s when I realized mine was a deeper problem; I approached a homeopath. We addressed it all–being an overweight child, the pressure of growing up with 2 talented sisters & an industry which constantly scrutinises you. By the end, I felt like a new person.So, after 2 years of disappearing from everywhere, I joined social media. Even then, I’d be asked–‘Are you going to be a yummy mummy or will you be ‘Sexy Sam’ again?’ But I refused to live a lie just to get followers! So I started talking about my problems–at first, I was trolled for not looking ‘perfect’ but it didn’t bother me."

Sameera concluded her statement saying, "And in 2018, when I was pregnant with Nyra, I told myself, ‘I’m going to do this my way.’ I was 40, scared & bloated but I was determined to do everything that I’d missed out on before–I spoke about mood swings, & when I was 8 months pregnant, I did an underwater bikini shoot. That’s when women said to me, ‘You inspire me’ And guess what–I started off with 90% male followers but now, 70% of them are women & that’s a big achievement for me. I even tell my kids–‘Be whatever you want, but be honest to yourself.’So, that’s what I’m doing; I remember, there was a time when even the slightest bulge under my underarms would bother people, including me. But now, who cares? I’m 42, chubby & fabulous!".

Check out Sameera's post below: