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After rubbing shoulders with Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney, Sameera Reddy has now befriended Latin American pop sensation Shakira while at the ongoing Toronto International Film Fest. The sultry actress whose dancing skills are well accalimed met Shakira at the One X One charity event early this week.

She informs that the popular Shakira is extremely shy. Once they exchanged greetings, Shakira and Sameera bonded over their penchant for the six yard long, traditional sari and silver jewellery.

Sameera, who was wearing a red sari designed by Neeta Lulla for the occasion says, “Shakira is very shy. We actually, got talking over my red saree and accessories.” Our conversation veered on subjects ranging from traditional garb to folk dances like the bhangra.

Later, when Shakira took the stage along with Haitian-American rapper Wyclef Jean she pulled up Sameera and urged her to do some popular bhangra dance moves. This prompted Wyclef to belt out his latest track, ‘Bollywood meets Hollywood’, (which is in collaboration with music composer Aadesh Srivastava).

Sameera also says, “It was an impromptu performance. I managed to teach them bhangra. Wyclef’s latest track Bollywood meets Hollwood is going to be as popular as ‘Hips don’t lie’.”

Hollywood actor Matt Damon who hosted the event also joined in the bhangra. At the end of the performance, Sameera handed out her crystal-studded silver bangles to Wyclef’s sister Melkey. “It was surprising to see Matt Damon doing a bhangra. They were fascinated by the sari and my silver bangles. Melkey wouldn’t let me go without giving her the bangles.”

The actress, who returned to the city yesterday, further informs that the Bollywood making inroads into Hollywood is no longer a distant reality. “Bollywood is the in thing in Hollywood. They are extremely curious about our films and of course, all the song and dance.”

She’s excelled in her glamourous avatar and now Sameera Reddy will be in the limelight for her arty mould too. The actress is off for the Toronto Film Festival soon to bask in the glory of her Bengali film which will be screened there. And she’s quite excited about walking the red carpet for yet another well appreciated performance. This lady can sure take a bow for making India proud, right?

Her bags are packed and she’s ready to go! Yes, Sameera Reddy is getting ready to fly off to Toronto for the Toronto Film Festival scheduled to begin on September 8. Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Bengali film Me Iyasim Amar Madhubala and Mira Nair’s short film on AIDS migration are both slated to be shown there and Sameera’s on a high. Reason? Well, the dusky actress stars in both! “This month has been wonderful. These two films are going for the Toronto Film Festival and Kaalpurush has bagged a National Award - the timing couldn’t be more perfect,” gushed Sameera.

With Kaalpurush, Sameera has managed to shut up critics who had slotted her only as a glamorous actress. “It’s really sad when actors get slotted,” said Sameera, “I think all of us girls are good actresses and just need to be given the right chance.”And for Sameera, the right chance came along with this film, where she finally got the chance to prove her acting talent.

“I remember when dada (Buddhadeb Dasgupta) approached me for the role, it was totally unbelievable for me!” recalled Sameera, adding, “It is the director who has the vision to transform a glam doll into an actress.” But did she not question him why he chose her for the role? “I am a fan of his work, so when I was offered the role, I was so taken aback that I just grabbed it!” she laughed. The film required her to portray the intense emotions of a young woman who’s trying to cope with the fact that her marriage is a failure. “The greatest compliment for me was when dada compared me to Smita Patil,” she smiled.

So with this role, does she feel that her responsibility towards the audience has increased? “Well, it has definitely made me a thinking actor. Now the responsibility is to deliver what the audience needs,” she said, but in the same breath added, “That doesn’t mean I condone my jhatak matak roles. I love being a glam doll! I just have to balance those kind of roles with serious roles.” But even though the actress is being appreciated down South, in Bollywood, she still has to deliver a solid hit. “Well, Taxi No. 9,2,11 was a hit,” Sameera disagreed, “And I consider Musafir a turning point in my career. I believe that slow and steady wins the race. Things don’t change overnight and I’m positive about about where I’m headed.”

And as any other glam actress in Bollywood, Sameera too has had her share of controversies - whether it was her link-up with NTR Junior or her alleged affair with Sanjay Gupta. “It’s something an actor has to live with,” she said philosophically, when asked if she thinks she is controversy’s favourite child. “No, I think this happens with every actor. My way of dealing with this is neither to agree to them or deny them,” she said. Sameera has recently admitted to seeing Mumbai-based Shamshur Lalani. “I don’t like talking about my private life. I would rather talk about my work,” she said firmly.

And it’s work, work and more work for this dusky actress, what with typical Bollywood masala fare like Race and One, Two, Three in her kitty too. “The satisfaction you get from doing an art film is something else completely but at the same time, I love commercial cinema too!” said Sameera.

Movie making is serious business folks, but sometimes it can be fun too. Like in the case of Sameera Reddy. The actress recently joined the young cast of One Two Three in Pondicherry and is having a great time. The others present are Esha Deol, Upen Patel, Tanisha, Tusshar Kapoor and Neetu Chandra, and obviously the young lot are having a whale of a time on the sets. With film itself being touted be very funny - it’s sending all the cast members into laughing fits while shooting, because of the funny scenes. Hopefully, all that laughter will translate into a big hit at the box-office, and have producer Kumar Mangat laughing all the way to the bank!

She maybe a little cheesed off for being involved in link-ups, but Sameera Reddy isn’t bogged down by all this negative talk. In fact, the girl is living it up both professionally and in personal life. While she’s got some free time between film schedules, she’s busy with shows, shuttling in and out of town like nobody’s business. And in the midst of all this she’s even finding time to chill out with friends and family. We guess it’s the rejuvenation before she launches off on another of those never ending filmi schedules. With all that hard work, she definitely deserves the breaks, right?

“Leave me alone,” fumes Sameera Reddy over rumours that continue to link her with producerdirector Sanjay Gupta. “I have been seeing someone for the last six months and I’m quite happy in my relationship,” she says. Sameera has been dating Shamshul Lalani, a Mumbai-based builder. And the two of them have also been spotted often at various hotspots in the city. “Sanjay Gupta has been with his exwife for the past one year and I am happy for them. All I can say is that I am really indebted to his production house for giving me such a big break.”

But when asked if she did meet Sanjay in Goa, as reported recently in the media, she says, “Of course not. I had flown down for a photoshoot for a fashion magazine that was to be done by Atul Kasbekar. These link-ups are really upsetting my personal life and is putting a lot of pressure on my family. I repeat again that I am seeing someone who comes from an affluent builder family in Mumbai and we are happy together,” she adds.

Meanwhile on the career front, Sameera is currently shooting for Abbas-Mustan’s film Race and has been signed for Kumar Mangat’s film too. “I am quite happy with my career,” says Sameera. Now that she has admitted to her relationship with builder boyfriend Shamshul, the dusky beauty is hoping that rumours with Gupta will be put to rest.

She might be of South Indian origin born and brought up in Mumbai, but when it comes to movies, she is open to any challenge and doesn’t shy away from experimenting. While Sameera Reddy has already done a Bengali film titled Kaalpurush, the girl is already loving the language so much that she will be soon doing another one. And guess what? Her experience with Bengali films has also taught her a smattering of Bengali. Now how about getting hooked with a Bengali guy?

There have been reports from over a month that Sameera Reddy is making a conscious effort from her side to get back to her former beau Sanjay Gupta. However, Gupta who is right now pretty keen on getting back with his exwife Anu, is not interested in having Sameera back in his life.

It has been learnt that a few weeks back, Gupta was in Goa to scout for locations for his film Alibaug and was staying at Casa Anjuna hotel. One day, Sameera suddenly landed up at the hotel where Gupta was put up, and let it be known that she wanted to get back with him. However, Gupta made it clear that he wanted to have nothing to do with her. They stayed together for a day and they also went back to Mumbai in the same flight.

A hotel staff, working in Casa Anjuna, confirms the news saying, “Yes Sanjay Gupta was staying in our hotel in April for a few days. We believe that he was here to hunt for locations for one of his new films. Sameera checked into our hotel a day before Sanjay Gupta was supposed to leave. We saw them going out for dinner and they were also spotted together having an early morning breakfast before checking out of the hotel.”

The hotel manager of Casa Anjuna neither confirmed nor denied the news. He
simply said, “Mr. Gupta is a regular at the Casa group of hotels and one of our VIP clients. Their privacy is of paramount importance to us.”

Sanjay Gupta refused to comment on the issue too, when we contacted him. He said, “I do not want to talk about it.”

Sameera Reddy, in her turn, denied the news. She said, “From my understanding, Sanjay Gupta is happily settled with his wife and these stories only create misunderstanding. They are wonderful people…”

Post Musafir - the movie which gave Sameera Reddy the tag of having a hot bod - the actor yo-yoed, once again towards the plumper side. Now, after having lost 10 kilos in a period of two months, Sameera’s back in shape. “I’m feeling as fit as ever and my energy levels are soaring. I was tired of doing the same workout for the past six years. My body had plateaued, as far as losing weight was concerned. I needed to jump-start my exercise routine. Which is when my fitness instructor asked me to focus more on getting a toned, supple body rather than developing muscle. Power yoga, specialised weight training and an hour of daily cardio, coupled with a healthy diet, I’m looking my best these days,” smiles Sameera.

So, has maintaining weight always been a problem for her? “I was always a plump child, especially during my school days. Once I entered college, I realised I had to do something about it, so I consciously lost 30 kilos. It was only after joining films that I started concentrating on getting a chiselled body,” says the actor, adding that it was quite a complex having two slim sisters, models Sushma and Meghna Reddy. “I was the ugly duckling of the family. No matter how much my sisters would eat, they would never put on weight!”

Now that Sameera’s toned and energetic, she has started doing her own stunts for her movies - she recently jumped off a cliff in Panchgani for an action scene. “Now, when I think about it, it’s pretty cool, but it took a lot of convincing at that time. It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. I love adventure sports, but jumping off a cliff is not on my agenda!” she laughs.

Even while Sameera’s focusing on her Bollywood career right now, she still wants to continue doing movies down South. “I have a big market there, and I’d like to do at least one movie per year in the Southern film industry.” Talk about her link-ups with film maker Sanjay Gupta and south co-star NTR Jr, and Sameera refuses to comment. “Linkups are a part of this industry, I don’t let them affect me. I’m very much single as of now.” But she goes on to reveal how she would love to act with Salman Khan - on whom she had a huge crush during her teenage years. “I used to see Maine Pyaar Kiya once everyday! I’m still a big Sallu fan. I love his comedy. I’d love to do a song with him,” she signs off.