"Why Should I Hide?": Samantha says 'Oo Antava' came to her in 'middle of separation' with Naga Chaitanya, family told her not to do 'item song'

Actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu is currently grabbing eyeballs with her upcoming release 'Shakuntalam', which is slated to release on 14 April 2023. The 35-year-old actress undoubtedly became a household name right after the release of her super hit 'Oo Antava Oo Oo Antava' from the Telugu blockbuster 'Pushpa The Rise', starring Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna and her performance was applauded by everyone.

While speaking to Miss Malini during the promotions of 'Shaakuntalam', the actress revealed that the song was offered to her just after she announced her separation from former husband, Naga Chaitanya. But Samantha's friends, family and well-wishers didn't want the actor to do the song. However, Samantha added that she was in no mood to sit at home after her separation as she didn't do anything wrong.

"You will sit at home, you will not do an item song"

The actress said, "When I was offered 'O Antava', it was in the middle of the separation (from Naga). After the announcement came, every well-wisher and every family member was like 'You will sit at home, you will not do an item song just when you have announced the separation'. Even my friends, who always encouraged me to challenge myself, told me, 'Do not do an item song'. But I was like, 'Ok, I am doing it."

Samantha added that she felt that she will not hide like someone who has committed a crime. She shared, "I just thought, 'why should I hide?' I did not do anything wrong. I was not going to wait for all of the trolling, abuse and hate to go away and slowly creep back in like someone who committed a crime. I was not going to do that. I gave my marriage 100%, it did not work out. But, I was not going to beat myself up and feel guilty for something I didn't do."

"I loved the lyrics of the song"

The actress said that she was feeling that the song was an opportunity to do something she didn't do before. Samantha said, "I loved the lyrics of the song and I loved how it was positioned. I had not done an item song, and I love exploring different characters. I looked at the song just as another character and not as an item number. It just came from a place of me doing something new and nothing else." The actress further added that actor Allu Arjun helped her 'big time' during the shoot of 'O Anatava' as she didn't want to give the song a 'stereotypical' treatment of an item song.

For the unversed, Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu took to social media in October 2021 to announce that they are parting ways as husband and wife. After their separation, Samantha told Karan Johar on his show 'Koffee With Karan Season 7' that her separation from Naga Chaitanya was acrimonious.