"She stopped talking to us": Vijay Deverakonda opens up about Samantha's battle with myositis

Vijay Deverakonda opened up about the time when his co-star Samantha was feeling unwell and was diagnosed with myositis. He revealed that she "struggled so much" and "stopped talking to people." 

Speaking about this during the Kushi musical concert in Hyderabad, he explained, "We started the film very happily in April. Major part shooting was completed. Samantha said that she was not feeling well when 30-35% of the shoot was left in July. I and Shiva used to say to Samantha that you are so beautiful, you will be healthy. Initially thought it will take 3 days, then 2 weeks time. However, the health did not improve. I came to know about her health condition when I went for another film promotion. Because we as actors have to make the audience laugh. We don't want to tell our sorrows. Samantha was not feeling well for a few days and stopped talking to us. She struggled so much."

He further said, "Today, when we are doing promotional events, many people come and say that Samantha is our inspiration. They are sharing the problems they are facing. She still doesn't feel well. But she came here for us today and danced with me. I want to see the smile on Samantha's face on September 1."

Mentioning that Kushi was a memorable movie in her career, Samantha said, "We always want to give you a movie that you all like. We have made such an attempt with this film." She also assured that she will come back healthy for the love that the audience shows her.

Director Shiva Nirvana said Kushi will touch people's hearts and make them laugh and cry. "Married couples, those who are not married, those who don't want to get married in their life, everyone will share the memories of their love life after watching Kushi movie. They will love the film and give hugs to each other after coming home," he added.

The event saw singers Javed Ali, Sid Sriram, Manjusha, Chinmayi and music director Hesham Abdul Wahab performing chartbusters from the film.

Actors Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha have been busy promoting their film, directed by Shiva Nirvana which is slated to release on September 1 in theatres in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. The movie is produced by Naveen Yerneni and Y Ravi Shankar under the banner of Mythri Movie Makers.