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Often, even when they’re the best of friends offscreen, actors are required to pretend to be sworn enemies on screen. And Sameera Reddy and Vivek Oberoi were faced with a similar situation recently. “Vivek is a friend and he was a lot of fun to work with,” says Sameera. “We actually had a blast on the sets as well as off the sets. It was almost like I was working with a good friend of mine and not just a co-actor. The role demanded that we should be fighting with each other throughout the film and we actually had a lot of fun doing those scenes. Vivek is an intense actor who prepares a lot and that worked for many scenes.” Now, it remains to be seen how this combination of ‘war and peace’ works for the film too!

Post Musafir - the movie which gave Sameera Reddy the tag of having a hot bod - the actor yo-yoed, once again towards the plumper side. Now, after having lost 10 kilos in a period of two months, Sameera’s back in shape. “I’m feeling as fit as ever and my energy levels are soaring. I was tired of doing the same workout for the past six years. My body had plateaued, as far as losing weight was concerned. I needed to jump-start my exercise routine. Which is when my fitness instructor asked me to focus more on getting a toned, supple body rather than developing muscle. Power yoga, specialised weight training and an hour of daily cardio, coupled with a healthy diet, I’m looking my best these days,” smiles Sameera.

So, has maintaining weight always been a problem for her? “I was always a plump child, especially during my school days. Once I entered college, I realised I had to do something about it, so I consciously lost 30 kilos. It was only after joining films that I started concentrating on getting a chiselled body,” says the actor, adding that it was quite a complex having two slim sisters, models Sushma and Meghna Reddy. “I was the ugly duckling of the family. No matter how much my sisters would eat, they would never put on weight!”

Now that Sameera’s toned and energetic, she has started doing her own stunts for her movies - she recently jumped off a cliff in Panchgani for an action scene. “Now, when I think about it, it’s pretty cool, but it took a lot of convincing at that time. It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. I love adventure sports, but jumping off a cliff is not on my agenda!” she laughs.

Even while Sameera’s focusing on her Bollywood career right now, she still wants to continue doing movies down South. “I have a big market there, and I’d like to do at least one movie per year in the Southern film industry.” Talk about her link-ups with film maker Sanjay Gupta and south co-star NTR Jr, and Sameera refuses to comment. “Linkups are a part of this industry, I don’t let them affect me. I’m very much single as of now.” But she goes on to reveal how she would love to act with Salman Khan - on whom she had a huge crush during her teenage years. “I used to see Maine Pyaar Kiya once everyday! I’m still a big Sallu fan. I love his comedy. I’d love to do a song with him,” she signs off.

She’s excelled in her glamourous avatar and now Sameera Reddy will be in the limelight for her arty mould too. The actress is off for the Toronto Film Festival soon to bask in the glory of her Bengali film which will be screened there. And she’s quite excited about walking the red carpet for yet another well appreciated performance. This lady can sure take a bow for making India proud, right?

After rubbing shoulders with Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney, Sameera Reddy has now befriended Latin American pop sensation Shakira while at the ongoing Toronto International Film Fest. The sultry actress whose dancing skills are well accalimed met Shakira at the One X One charity event early this week.

She informs that the popular Shakira is extremely shy. Once they exchanged greetings, Shakira and Sameera bonded over their penchant for the six yard long, traditional sari and silver jewellery.

Sameera, who was wearing a red sari designed by Neeta Lulla for the occasion says, “Shakira is very shy. We actually, got talking over my red saree and accessories.” Our conversation veered on subjects ranging from traditional garb to folk dances like the bhangra.

Later, when Shakira took the stage along with Haitian-American rapper Wyclef Jean she pulled up Sameera and urged her to do some popular bhangra dance moves. This prompted Wyclef to belt out his latest track, ‘Bollywood meets Hollywood’, (which is in collaboration with music composer Aadesh Srivastava).

Sameera also says, “It was an impromptu performance. I managed to teach them bhangra. Wyclef’s latest track Bollywood meets Hollwood is going to be as popular as ‘Hips don’t lie’.”

Hollywood actor Matt Damon who hosted the event also joined in the bhangra. At the end of the performance, Sameera handed out her crystal-studded silver bangles to Wyclef’s sister Melkey. “It was surprising to see Matt Damon doing a bhangra. They were fascinated by the sari and my silver bangles. Melkey wouldn’t let me go without giving her the bangles.”

The actress, who returned to the city yesterday, further informs that the Bollywood making inroads into Hollywood is no longer a distant reality. “Bollywood is the in thing in Hollywood. They are extremely curious about our films and of course, all the song and dance.”