actor: Sameera Reddy never shied away from talking about the challenges he faced before he made his mark in Bollywood. Although acting was never part of her original plan, she found herself entering the industry after appearing in Pankaj Udhas’ hit 2000 music video ‘Ahista Kijiye Baatein’. The popularity of the song eventually paved the way for his acting counterpart Sohail Khan: in ‘Maine Dil Tujhko Diya’ (2002). Looking back, Sameera recently revealed that the experience was far from glamorous, recalling intense anxiety on set and opening up about her lifelong struggle with stuttering.Speaking to Hauterrfly, Sameera recalled the first day of filming and admitted that she was overwhelmed with fear. “After shooting for a music video randomly, I came back and it became a superhit song. I thought to myself, ‘I don’t want to do this’. I got a lot of panic attacks initially. When I did my first film ‘Maine Dil Tujhko Diya’ I remember the first shot. Aishwarya Rai and: Salman Khan:everyone was sitting there. They are producing the film and Sohail Khan is with me,” he shared.Describing the shocking moment, she added, “I remember all I could say was ‘Why don’t you go?’ When he said action, I whispered the dialogue. I was so scared, my hands were shaking and sweating. But, I remember my therapist saying, ‘What scares you? If you break it, you break a lot of other scary things’. That’s what I teach my kids.”The actor also reflected on living with a speech impediment since childhood and explained how he slowly learned to accept it instead of fearing judgment. “Now as someone who stammers, I can tell if someone is stammering. But I know inside that I would do it, what’s the big deal? You laugh? So what happens? I am sitting here, you all watch me. That’s what I think,” she expressed.Sameera even spoke about experiencing colorism during her debut film, revealing that her complexion was deliberately altered on screen. “In my first film, *Maine Dil Tujhko Diya*, I was made two to three shades lighter. I almost looked grey! I used full body makeup to match the color of my face to my body. Do you know how many women have this in their own families? Her own parents and in-laws say, ‘You are black or fat.’What the hell! Who gives the definition of beauty?” he confessed.
