‘We will have to do this while I am feeding Nyra’, she said breathlessly while I got my questions lined in my head. That’s Sexy Sam for people of my era and Messy Mama for the netizens. We are speaking about none other than Sameera Reddy who has totally redefined social-media trends and the saas-bahu relationship.
You realise that netizens now know you as Messy Mama and have no recollection of Sexy Sam?
Neither do I, it is the truth. I am an exhausted, stretch-marked mommy who is not one of those sexy Yoga mommies you find on Instagram. It is not my life anymore. When I joined social media a few years ago, I was told I have to be the hot yoga mommies, or not even try. But I love this space and I wanted to get into it as myself.
I guess, everything that people said would go against me, has become my strength on SM (social media). A lot of ladies relate to me, for me.
What about Sexy Sam…
I know I was known as that, but I don’t know what people thought of me then. The real me has always been someone with a mad quirky sense of humour who is very bindas. I was and always will be a very relaxed kind of person. I don’t have it in me to fake it…
Why ‘Messy Mamma’?
Because it is me. It is a joke in our house about just how messy I can get. Akshai (Varde- her husband) cannot find his way around my bathroom counter. He doesn’t know how I do it. But in my own mess, I am very organised. I know exactly where I will find what…
Anyways, so ‘Messy Mama’ is an obvious extension of me.
Is ‘Sassy Saasu’, an extension of your mother-in-law, Manjri Varde?
Have you seen her? The boots, the tats, the chunky-jewelry and not to forget the heavy metal music she loves. It is full-on sass for her.
The two of you have totally redefined saas-bahu for the netizens, tell us a little about your relationship.
My mother-in-law (Manjri Varde) is a divorcee. When I was dating Akshai (Varde) he had told me that his mother will very much be a part of our relationship. Even when we go on dates, on the weekends she too will be accompanying us for the movies. My initial reaction was like WHAT? But now Akshai has become the third wheel.
As for redefining saas-bahu, of course we have our differences, when two people live together there are bound to be clashes. But my mother-in-law has a lot of spunk, I love her zest for life, I relate to her completely. Every small thing in our house becomes a big celebration because of just the kind of people we are. In many ways I have taken her under my wing and vice versa.
Whose idea was it to make these series?
Everything that you see on my videos is just the way it has happened. Nothing is fake, nothing is contrived. I think that’s what people relate to the most. During the lockdown we made a crazy rotla video and it became a trend. We just have started taking each day as it comes, chalo aaj yeh karte hai, types. I love editing my videos and having fun with it. It is all in-house. And I love every moment of it.