Hyderabad: Tollywood star Samantha Ruth Prabhu, known for her strength on and off the screen, has once again proven her resilience with her recent role in Citadel: Honey Bunny, the Indian adaptation of the global hit Citadel.

Despite her ongoing battle with Myositis, a condition she has been managing for a couple of years, Samantha’s dedication to her craft has always remained strong.

Sam shares a very close bond with her trainer and friend Junaid Shaikh. She often pens and thanks him on social media for letting her give up during testing times.

On Thursday, Junaid took to Instagram to celebrate Samantha’s journey to Citadel, sharing snapshots from her intense workout sessions. In his heartfelt post, Junaid recalled their early morning training routines where Samantha showed up despite the struggles and sleepless nights.

His sweet note read: “Hello Sam, there are hundreds of posts and stories about your battle and many will be coming too. But today I want to write this to relive our journey. I remember walking to gym at 5:15 AM, and you were wide awake. And you told me this challenge, called “CITADEL”. I know we were excited, but nervous too. My challenge was not to train you, but sometimes ask you not to train, because of some of your sleepless nights. But here we are breaking those bones on screen yet making it all look charismatic, effortlessly! Citadel Honey Bunny is actually Samantha proving it again, “ sab kuch possible hai”. I would like to thank @wellnessbyalkesh playing an important part in journey and my little brother @amankarani living the journey with Sam I think the one who knows in and out about the Citadel Prep is most important SAASHA.”

Samantha responded warmly, expressing gratitude to Junaid and the support team who helped her during the challenging shoot. “Today, as I read all the reviews, I am just so so incredibly grateful to you…for helping me do this. I love you forever,” she wrote.

Citadel: Honey Bunny, directed by The Family Man fame Raj & DK, is set in the 1990s and has generated significant buzz since its release on OTT. It stars Varun Dhawan and Samantha in lead roles.

The Indian installment follows the original Citadel, created by the Russo Brothers and starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden.