actor: Sameera Reddy recently opened up about the close relationship he shares with his mother-in-law, Manjri Varde, revealing how she encouraged him to rediscover his confidence after a difficult phase in life. For those who don’t know, after getting married while Sameera was away from movies for a long time because she also embraced motherhood, the actress and her father-in-law are social media sensations. Manjiri is an inspiration to many and Sameera also believes in keeping it real on social media through her honest posts and candid confessions. In a recent interview, Sameera recalled that when she first met Manjri, she felt that her divorce and her ex-husband’s remarriage had affected her greatly, although she did not express it openly.“I’ll say it openly now. When I met her, she was divorced and my father-in-law moved out and remarried, and in my head, I always knew, even if she didn’t say it, I always knew that it was something that was bothering her,” said Sameera at the FICCI FLO event in Bengaluru.Agreeing with her daughter-in-law, Manjri admitted, “It’s troubling for each of us. It’s not easy being single.”Sameera said she saw great potential in Manjri and made it her mission to help her embrace life with renewed confidence. She wants her mother-in-law to stop holding back and step into the spotlight.“I decided to make you super hot and a supersar because I really felt she has it in her. And I wanted that for her so I think when I met her, I really felt that… It’s not that she shrunk herself, but she didn’t go out there and just give.”The actor also spoke about the social stigma attached to divorce and said he urged Manjri not to let society dictate how she lives her life.“That’s how divorcees feel and I’m telling you, you don’t have to. You live once, you have one life and if you live it for society… This was literally the speech I gave him. I said, ‘No one is going to hold your hand when you’re standing alone and crying in a corner. You have to get up and you have to do it yourself’.”Sameera added that their intention was never to disrespect her father-in-law or continue the past, but to focus on creating a fulfilling future for themselves.“Even if someone has moved on, we’re not here to go and spit in their face; we’re here to move on our own path together. Shine the light on yourself; automatically, everyone will start turning to you.”She added, “The whole point is not to shrink yourself for anyone, not your husband, not even your own family.”Sameera Reddy, who left films after marrying businessman Akshai Varde in 2014, later reinvented herself as a parent and lifestyle content creator. During the pandemic, Manjri Varde has also become a familiar face in her videos on social media, with the duo winning appreciation for their candid and relevant interactions.Earlier, in an interview with Hauterrfly, Sameera praised her mother-in-law for always being honest and supportive. He recalls that when they first met, Manjri had candidly told him about Akshai’s dating history and thanked him for never taking her son’s side.Describing their relationship, Sameera said that Manjri was someone “who was there, talked to me, really, always stood by me. Pimo ki mera beta, mera beta. She was always like, ‘Sameera, are you okay? What do you need?'”