May 11, 2025 06:13 AM IST

Samantha Ruth Prabhu delighted fans when she lit up the screens with her sizzling dance number Oo Antava in Pushpa: The Rise, alongside Allu Arjun. The song became a huge hit, with fans drooling over Samantha's hotness. However, in a recent interview with Galatta Plus, Samantha opened up about how people advised her against doing the special number. (Also Read: Samantha Ruth Prabhu first Indian star to ensure pay parity for artistes on her maiden production)

When asked if she did Oo Antava to make a statement, Samantha replied, “As much as people love to think that I do things to make statements for other people, I do it to challenge myself. Throughout my life, I have never considered myself a good-looking, hot woman. I think Oo Antava was an opportunity for me to see if I could fake it and pull it off. I had never done that before. So it was honestly a challenge to myself, and I was only going to do it once because I just accepted it as a challenge.”

She further stated that she was surprised when Oo Antava was offered to her and added, “Who thinks of me for a special song — and that too, one in which I had to look really hot? I was always playing the cute, bubbly, girl-next-door. It wasn’t about the dance, it was about the attitude — the fierce, confident woman who is always comfortable in her sexuality — all of these, which I am not. People around me said, absolutely not. I was like, I liked the lyrics, I just felt nobody had offered me something like this before, and I looked at it as an opportunity. I was shaking in front of 500 junior artists before the first shot. I was so nervous.”

Oo Antava was one of the major highlights of Pushpa: The Rise. The song became a massive hit, and Samantha earned praise for her bold and captivating performance. The film, which also featured Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna, and Fahadh Faasil in lead roles, was a huge box office success. However, in the sequel, Pushpa 2: The Rule, instead of Samantha, Sreeleela performed a special dance number titled Kissk.

Samantha will next be seen in The Family Man. Helmed by Raj & DK, the series also stars Manoj Bajpayee, Jaideep Ahlawat, Priyamani, and others in key roles and is scheduled to release on Prime Video in November this year. She also has Raj & DK's fantasy action series Rakt Bramhand: The Bloody Kingdom in the pipeline, which also stars Ali Fazal and is set to release on Netflix.