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In a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, Samantha Ruth Prabhu quickly deflected credit for one particular detail she's been asked about often lately: her engagement ring.
"I had no idea about it, by the way. I had no part whatsoever in selecting this ring! It's all Raj. You must ask him...," she said, laughing off any suggestion that the design was a joint effort. "I saw it for the first time only when he proposed to me."
The ring, she revealed, came from a friend of the couple's who works as a jewellery designer in Greece.
The moment was a lighter coda to an interview, during which the actress spoke about the work that went into her role in Maa Inti Bangaaram, the film’s success, and how Raj talked her out of quitting acting.
"I had to shoot Citadel: Honey Bunny when I was unwell and that wasn't a pleasant experience to go through. I didn't want a whole set waiting and people's time wasted. I would have been really happy to just produce, to be behind the scenes, and to watch amazing films being made that I truly believed in. And I had made peace with that decision (to not act anymore)."
"But producing with Himank and Raj, and him being there on set... gave me the courage to keep going," she recalled, adding that she was happy she eventually relented.
"I was ready to give up. During the making of Honey Bunny, I sent them the mail, but they didn't give up on me... and the same with Maa Inti Bangaaram. I think that Raj seems to have more faith in me than I do," Samantha added, noting that he has also helped her become a better actor.
Asked what makes their creative relationship work, and Samantha points to the trust they built well before they got romantically involved. "I worked with Raj first as an actor. I have the greatest respect for him, and I value his judgement more than anyone else's," she said.
"He always has my best interests at heart, and we hardly ever disagree on things. I think the most important part is that we listen to each other." That trust, she said, gave her room to take creative risks she might otherwise have hesitated over. "Usually there are boundaries. Sometimes I wonder... if I try something and it comes out wrong, will people be judging my performance? But working with Raj, I didn't have to have those boundaries."
That confidence showed up on set in practical terms too. Most of Maa Inti Bangaaram's scenes, she said, were shot on a single take, a method she credits to being embedded in the project from its earliest stages. "I was part of the process from the idea, from the seed, so I knew this character and everything about this world, and it was just easy to slip into it."
Watch the full interview drop on The Hollywood Reporter India YouTube channel later today