Samantha Ruth Prabhu was honored with the Woman of the Year award at this year’s IIFA Utsavam, and her heartfelt speech was met with a playful moment courtesy of show host Rana Daggubati. After receiving the award from Vicky Kaushal, Samantha delivered an emotional speech reflecting on her comeback to the industry after a health break. However, as she was about to leave the stage, Rana couldn’t resist joking, calling her “Samantha Ruthless Prabhu,” which made everyone laugh.
Rana, never one to shy away from banter, also teased Samantha about her shift from Tollywood to Hollywood, quipping, “She went from my sister-in-law to my sister.” He further poked fun at her decreased presence in Telugu films, to which Samantha humorously responded, “If I do a film, it should be like Narasimha Naidu, not Rana Naidu.” Rana quickly fired back, saying, “That’s not cinema, sister, it’s a show. I learned that from Family Man.”
Rana continued to tease, sharing that he used to call her “Samantha Ruthless Prabhu” since childhood. When he asked where “Comedy Sam” went, Samantha replied with a smile, “Comedy Sam… controversial Sam. She went to sleep; good night.”
Watching this clip on loop🥰
— Samfangirl💓 (@HeartNaniSam) November 4, 2024
Kaadhu comedy Sam emaindhi??🥺@Samanthaprabhu2 #IIFAUtsavam2024 #IIFAUtsavamAwards #SamanthaRuthPrabhu𓃵 pic.twitter.com/1R3euRWQ4S
How Are Rana and Samantha Related?
For those who may not know, Samantha was married to Naga Chaitanya from 2017 to 2021. Chaitanya is Rana’s cousin on the Daggubati side. Naga Chaitanya’s father, actor Nagarjuna, was married to Rana’s aunt, Lakshmi Daggubati, from 1984 to 1990, before his marriage to Amala.
Samantha and Rana have only worked together once before, in the 2016 Tamil film Bangalore Naatkal, a remake of Bangalore Days, where Samantha had a cameo.
Upcoming Projects
Rana Daggubati was recently seen in the Tamil film Vettaiyan, alongside Rajinikanth. He also presented the Telugu film Jigra, starring Alia Bhatt. Rana will soon be starring in the second season of Rana Naidu on Netflix, alongside his uncle Venkatesh.
Samantha, on the other hand, was last seen in the Telugu film Kushi and has exciting upcoming projects, including Citadel: Honey Bunny and Rakt Brahmand: The Bloody Kingdom.