Samantha Akkineni: Five best performances of the actress

2018 is turning out to an exciting year for Samantha Akkineni, who is inarguably one of the most successful heroines both in Tamil and Telugu. Since the start of the year, Samantha has starred in back-to-back blockbuster films like ‘Rangasthalam’, ‘Mahanati’ and ‘Irumbu Thirai’, which have been equally praised for her performance. As they say, Samantha doesn’t disappoint in films. Now that the actress is celebrating hattrick hits, we give you five best performances of Samantha Akkineni:

‘Ye Maya Chesave’ is inarguably one of the best films of Samantha Akkineni, which became a launchpad for the actress in Telugu. Gautham Menon originally planned to release ‘Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya’ in Tamil alone. But it was simultaneously made in Telugu as ‘Ye Maya Chesave’, which opened to rave reviews and became extremely successful at the box office. Samantha, on the other hand, was highly appreciated for her role as Jessie. Among the Telugu circuit, ‘Ye Maya Chesave’ is still celebrated for being what it is. Unlike the Tamil film, the climax of ‘Ye Maya Chesave’ was altered in the Telugu version. The film is easily one of the best romantic dramas and follows the story of Karthik (Naga Chaitanya), an aspiring director, who falls for Jessie (Samantha Akkineni), a Christian from Kerala.

Following her rise in Telugu cinema, Samantha Akkineni was finalised as the leading lady in SS Rajamouli’s path-breaking adventure thriller ‘Eega’, which was released in Tamil as ‘Naan Ee’. When Bindu’s (Samantha) lover Nani (Nani) gets murdered by Sudeep (Sudeep), he reincarnates in the form of a fly and takes his revenge. Upon release, ‘Naan Ee’ was celebrated by critics, who appreciated Rajamouli’s story and breathtaking visual effects. In a way, one could say that the driving force of the film was Samantha and the Tamil dialogues were written by Crazy Mohan. The film, which released in 2012, became one of the highest grossing films of Indian cinema and was well-received by the global audience as well. ‘Naan Ee’ was screened at several international film festivals and was awarded two National Awards.

This film, directed by Gautham Menon, remains to be one of Samantha’s best performances in Tamil. A romantic drama, ‘Neethaane En Ponvasantham’ tracks the love story of Varun (Jiiva) and Nithya (Samantha Akkineni). The film beautifully presents their romance in different phases of life- right from childhood to adolescent age. The Telugu dubbed version titled ‘Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu’ was simultaneously released. In fact, the Telugu film opened to good response and reviews as opposed to the Tamil version. ‘Neethaane En Ponvasantham’ created very good buzz ahead of its release in Tamil Nadu. However, the film opened to poor response from critics and audience alike. Over the years, ‘Neethaane En Ponvasantham’ earned a cult following, especially for its music composed by maestro Ilaiyaraaja.

Samantha Akkineni and Dhanush joined hands for the first time in ‘Thanga Magan’, which was directed by cinematographer turned director Velraj. Despite high expectations, the film was panned by critics and ultimately became a dud at the box office. However, ‘Thanga Magan’ is worth remembering for Samantha’s performance as Yamuna. It follows the story of Thamizh (Dhanush), who falls in love with an Anglo-Indian Hema (Amy Jackson). Thamizh marries Yamuna following his break-up with Hema. The rest of the story is about how Thamizh and Yamuna manage various life struggles. The songs composed by Anirudh Ravichander were a smash hit when it released.

Following the commercial success of ‘Kaththi’, Samantha Akkineni once again teamed up with Vijay for ‘Theri’, which was directed by Atlee. Though Samantha had a comparatively lesser screen time than Vijay, the actress won the hearts of the audience as Mithra in the film. Vijay and Samantha looked gorgeous together on screen and ‘Theri’ gave the much-needed break for both the stars. Released on the auspicious occasion of Tamil New Year’s Day, ‘Theri’ had a dream run at the box office, thereby becoming one of the highest grossing Tamil films that year. The film opened to rave reviews and was appreciated for the performances of actors- Vijay, Samantha and Mahendran. Last year, Samantha worked with Vijay again in ‘Mersal’, which got an overwhelming response from fans.