How Citadel: Honey Bunny's Samantha Ruth Prabhu Overcame 'Crippling Spasms' from Myositis to Nail 'Complicated' Action Role

Samantha Ruth Prabhu wasn’t sure if she could make it through the production Citadel: Honey Bunnybut in the end she is extremely glad that she did.

In the Prime Video spinoff Citadelwhich premiered on Thursday, November 7, Prabhu plays Honey, an aspiring actress turned spy in 1980s India. Citadel: Honey Bunny debuted weeks after the spinoff premiered Citadel: Dianaseries set in Milan in 2030 and starring Matilda De Angelis.

While Prabhu delivers an unforgettable, adrenaline-pumping performance, behind the scenes, the actress struggled mightily with the demanding role due to symptoms stemming from myositis, an autoimmune disease that attacks the body’s muscles.

Prabhu, 37, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2022, tells PEOPLE that she dealt with “paralyzing cramps,” fatigue and sensitivity to light — an “incredibly difficult” experience that forced her, at one point, to directors Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru send an email asking for it to be replaced before production at Citadel: Honey Bunny started.

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Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan in ‘Citadel: Honey Bunny’.

Amazon Studios

In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Prabhu shares the challenges she overcame during the shoot.

“I would close my eyes right before the shot and only when they say ‘action’ would I open them and that would be it only be enough for that shot and close them again,” says Prabhu, referring to her sensitivity to light. “I didn’t allow too much for those who know how difficult it was. Only a few in the inner circle knew how much I was struggling.”

“There were days when we all thought [the] the shoot had to be canceled because I couldn’t get up,” she continues. “Now that I think back, it must have been some kind of divine intervention because I really don’t know how I managed it. … I certainly wasn’t ready. I was a little better than when it started. I was 50% there, but nowhere near being able to take action.”

Still, Prabhu rose to the occasion, even going through 35 frames for one fight scene towards the end of the first episode. As the camera pans around a speeding car that is being pushed left and right, the actress is confronted by two men. The sequence took three hours to shoot – two hours more than expected – and proved surprisingly exhausting.

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Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Kashvi Majmundar in ‘Citadel: Honey Bunny.’

Amazon Studios

“I had shot some incredibly difficult and complicated action sequences before that particular sequence, so I assumed it would be child’s play,” she says. “But this shot ended up really killing everyone on set because it was so complicated… The camera work and the car movement, it got incredibly technical.”

After the end of production Citadel: Honey BunnyPrabhu took a year off from acting to focus on her health. While she remains tight-lipped about the full extent of treatment for her condition, she credits alternative medicine in part for her improved condition.

“I don’t want to do more harm than good, but I definitely want to keep talking about all the amazing possibilities that exist in alternative medicine,” he adds.

Inspired by her own health journey, Prabhu started a health-focused podcast take 20, which has so far covered a range of topics, including the autoimmune system, meditation and nutritional supplements. She is also the co-founder of Secret Alchemist, a wellness startup that sells aromatherapy products including therapeutic oils, candles and body creams.

Now as a loud advocate of health and with the first season Citadel: Honey Bunny behind her, the actress is aware that she’s potentially becoming a role model for her tens of millions of social media followers — a responsibility she doesn’t take lightly.

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Samantha Ruth Prabhu in ‘Citadel: Honey Bunny.’.

Amazon Studios

“I’m in no rush to sign my next project,” she explains. “It’s very important that I don’t let people down, that I don’t let myself down, or that I don’t get carried away by a big mega project that you just want to be a part of, but you don’t have any role or you’re just there because there has to be a girl, or there has to be a hero’s lover and nothing else. ”

She also doesn’t regret acting Citadel: Honey Bunnyeven if the journey was difficult.

“It’s a great character,” says Prabhu. “Even though I sent a lot of emails to Raj and DK to replace me and begged them to replace me, now that I look back, I’m very grateful that they didn’t and they stuck by me and they’ve stuck by me.”

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Citadel: Honey Bunny can be streamed on Prime Video.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education