Actor Samantha will take a sabbatical from acting after wrapping up Kushi and Citadel, according to sources. The actor reportedly wants to focus on her health and seek treatment. She is currently shooting for Kushi with Vijay Deverakonda, the production work of which is scheduled to be completed in the next three days. She has also almost completed filming for the web series Citadel with Varun Dhawan. The actor has not signed any new projects as she hopes to take a break from work. Sources say that she has also returned the advance payments that she received previously for various projects.
Last year, Samantha was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called myositis, which comprises a group of rare conditions, for which the main symptoms are weak, painful, or aching muscles. In an autoimmune disease, the body’s immune system fails to tell the difference between its own cells and foreign cells, which leads the immune system to mistakenly attack healthy cells.
While seeking treatment, the actor completed two films – Yashoda and Shaakuntalam. Yashoda received mixed responses, while Shaakuntalam tanked at the box office.
In a few interviews, Samantha had at the time spoken about the challenges of working with such a health condition, expressing her wish to “fight” and move ahead in her career.
Her next release Kushi is scheduled to be out on September 1. The film, directed by Shiva Nirvana and produced by Mythri Movie Makers, will release in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam. Apart from Samantha and Vijay Deverakonda, Kushi also stars Jayaram, Sachin Khedakar, Murali Sharma, Lakshmi, Ali, Rohini, Vennela Kishore, Rahul Ramakrishna, Srikanth Iyengar, Saranya, and others in supporting roles. Hesham Abdul Wahab has composed music for Kushi, while Prawin Pudi has been roped in for editing.
Meanwhile, in the Indian adaptation of Citadel, Samantha, and Varun Dhawan play the lead roles. The spy action thriller web series is expected to release this year.