Former actor Sameera Reddy may have stepped away from the spotlight, but her memories of navigating Bollywood in the early 2000s remain vivid. In a recent interview, she candidly spoke about the pressure to fit in, admitting that it once pushed her towards excessive spending on luxury brands.Speaking to Hautterfly, Sameera reflected on how her fashion choices have evolved over the years. “I have now settled to organic clothes and don’t touch my fancy clothes as much,” she said, while revisiting pieces from her old wardrobe, including a Chanel jacket worth around Rs 2.5 lakh. “That was me before kids,” she added.Opening up about the mindset she had in her early 20s, Sameera admitted, “Back then I was a shopaholic.” She elaborated further while picking up a bag from her early film days, saying, “This is Dior Gaucho bag. This is from 2005. When I just started films, I felt like I needed all the latest bags.”She didn’t shy away from acknowledging the underlying pressure. “I bought these bags because I felt the pressure to fit in. People usually say how they love bags, but I really bought these things so that people will think I had arrived. Now when I look back, I think I wish I had bought a block of gold, I would have done so much better,” she said. The Dior Gaucho bag she referred to is estimated to be priced between Rs 3–4 lakh.
‘I didn’t want to scream ‘look at me’ anymore’
Sameera also recalled buying a Louis Vuitton tote simply because it was trending in the industry. “If you look at this big bag, everybody in my industry was carrying these big LV totes (for their airport looks), and I felt so pressured that I remember I went and got it, thinking I have to have one airport look. I have to have this look,” she shared. The Louis Vuitton tote is priced at approximately Rs 1.7 lakh.She added that the phase was driven by the need to showcase wealth and status. “I went through that phase when everything was like ‘let’s show what we have.’ And then about thirteen years ago, I realised that I don’t want to scream ‘look at me’ and beauty is in quiet luxury.”
‘I’ve become a very relaxed girl in Goa’
Today, Sameera embraces a simpler, more mindful lifestyle. “Ever since I have moved to Goa, I have become this very relaxed girl. I love organic cotton. I have gone less fast fashion, I have also gone away from the bigger brands, and now I enjoy being really simple and mixing and matching what I have,” she said.Sameera Reddy, who worked across Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films between 2002 and 2013, stepped away from showbiz after marrying Akshai Varde in 2014.
