Samantha Ruth Prabhu reveals the truth about her relationship with late father Joseph: ‘I had to fight for…’

Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s father Joseph passed away in 2024. In an interview, the Yeh Maya Chesave star admitted that her equation with her late father was complicated. In a chat with Galatta India, the actress stated how her father was strict and demanding like most Indian parents, and it impacted her self-worth and approach to success a lot. "Success does two things: either you think you're invincible, or you feel undeserving of the love and praise you get. That's wjat happend to me," she said.

The Majili star said her father always downplayed her worth and made her crave validation and made her believe she was not smart or worthy enough.

“All my life growing up, I had to fight for validation. My father was kind of like... I think most Indian parents are like that. They think they're protecting you. He actually told me, 'You're not that smart. This is just the standard of Indian education. That's why even you can get a first rank. 'When you say that to a child, I really believed for the longest time that I'm not smart and not good enough,” she recalled.


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Her father’s dismissive behaviour, she said, damaged her self-esteem to such an extent that even when her debut film Ye Maaya Chesave became a major hit, she couldn’t accept the praise.

"I was scared people would wake up and realise I'm not all that talented or cool. I kept pushing myself to be better, to look better, to feel worthy of the adulation," she said.

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Samantha’s last outing, the action comedy drama Maa Inti Bangaaram, emerged as a major commercial success, minting over Rs 100 crore at the box office. She is also expecting her first child with husband, director Raj Nidimoru. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Samantha said the pregnancy was unexpected but a pleasant surprise.

“I had reached a place where I was okay. Like, both Raj and I were okay with it; maybe we can’t have kids. Maybe we will. I was okay with either. I was fine, and so was he. So, this is a surprise,” she said.