Actor Sameera Reddy to turn author

Actor Sameera Reddy will make her debut as an author with a book encouraging women to be comfortable being "imperfectly perfect" and dealing with issues like body positivity and mental health, announced publishing house Westland on Sunday.

It will chronicle Reddy's journey as an insecure teenager, her struggles during her modelling days and as an actor, dealing with postpartum depression and weight gain. The yet-to-be titled book will hit the stands next year, they added.

Reddy, who has been using Instagram to chronicle the reality behind the glamour of showbiz, said her inbox is flooded with messages from women desperate to find a way out of "depression" and "self-hatred".

The 41-year-old actor described the book as an "honest" dialogue on how to go about reaching a place where "one can be kind to oneself and ready to feel happiness".

"Finally got down to doing the unimaginable, which is sharing my story with the world of women, who continue to inspire me every day. I intend to make the book bold, brazen and above all - original. It is my small effort to keep the fire alive," said Reddy.

According to Westland, it is a much-needed book in this day and age when there is an immense pressure on women to look and behave in a certain way - a compulsion that has only increased because of social media.

"Sameera's openness about her own reality - in the way she speaks, the articles she writes and in her social media accounts - has touched a chord with women across the country. We're delighted to be publishing a book by her and hope that it will allow women more space to accept that they are 'imperfectly perfect",' said Deepthi Talwar, Chief Editor, Westland Publications.