Is Sameera Reddy’s south career over?

The Bollywood actress was Gautham Menon’s muse at one point in time and had a blockbuster with Suriya in Vaaranam Aayiram in 2008. Another role followed in Gautham’s Nadunisi Naaygal which didn’t fare well like her flick Vedi with Vishal. Though Vettai this year was an average hit, Sameera Reddy has not bagged any new films here.

Moving to Tollywood and Mollywood, the actress has not signed any flicks in either of those industries either in the last few years. Her last Telugu film was Ashok in 2006, while in Malayalam it was Oru Naal Varum in 2010. However, she recently did manage to bag a guest role in a Kannada film titled Varadhanayaka for which she’s rumoured to be getting paid between Rs 35 and 45 lakhs.

The initial attraction of the industry to an actress from Bollywood seems to have waned, so has the actress reached an impasse in the south? Some industry insiders feel she’s too old having well crossed 30, while others say that her statuesque frame doesn’t suit the roles or pairing with heroes often. The industry’s constant quest for new faces has also definitely had an impact on the careers of many actresses.

Says a filmmaker on condition of anonymity, “Sameera was not an A-list actress in Mumbai in the first place. She looked at south roles because she wasn’t getting great films there. Her Bollywood career was supported to a great extent by Priyadarshan films and his last film, Tezz, was a dud.” Now since Gautham Menon has moved on to another muse here and with other south filmmakers keen on roping A-list Bollywood heroines or new faces, looks like Sam’s career here could stall indefinitely.