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

Prabhu tells PEOPLE exclusively that she asked the show’s directors to be replaced due to her condition, but ultimately pulled through production to give a memorable performance

Samantha Ruth Prabhu wasn’t sure she could power through production of Citadel: Honey Bunny, but in the end, she’s extremely glad she did.

In the Prime Video spinoff of Citadel, which premiered Thursday, Nov. 7, Prabhu stars as Honey, an aspiring actress-turned-spy in 1980s India. Citadel: Honey Bunny debuted weeks after the premiere of the spinoff Citadel: Diana, a series set in Milan in 2030 starring Matilda De Angelis.

While Prabhu gives a memorable, 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.

Diagnosed with the condition in 2022, Prabhu, 37, tells PEOPLE she dealt with “crippling spasms,” fatigue and sensitivity to light — an “incredibly hard” experience that caused her to, at one point, email directors Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru asking that she be replaced before production on Citadel: Honey Bunny started.

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In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Prabhu shares the challenges she overcame while filming.

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

“There were days where we all thought [the] shoot was going to get canceled because I wasn't able to get up,” she continues. “To now think back, it must have been some kind of divine intervention because I really don't know how I did. … I certainly wasn't ready. I was a little better than when it started. I was 50% there, but nowhere close to being able to do action.”

Still, Prabhu rose to the occasion, even soldiering through 35 takes for one fight scene towards the end of the first episode. As the camera whirs around a fast-moving car jostling left and right, the actress takes on two men. The sequence took three hours — two hours more than expected — to shoot and proved surprisingly grueling.

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“I had shot some incredibly difficult and complicated action sequences before that particular sequence, so I assumed it was going to be child's play,” she says. “But this particular take ended up really killing everyone on set because it turned out to be so complicated … The camera work and the movement of the car, it just became incredibly technical.”

After production wrapped on Citadel: Honey Bunny, Prabhu took a year off from acting to focus on her health. While she remains private regarding the full scope of treatments for her condition, she partly credits alternative medicine for her improved state.

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

Inspired by her own health journey, Prabhu launched the health-focused podcast Take 20, which has covered a range of topics so far, including the autoimmune system, meditation and supplements. She’s also cofounder of Secret Alchemist, a wellness startup that sells aromatherapy products including therapeutic oils, candles and body cream.

Now as a vocal health advocate, and with season 1 of Citadel: Honey Bunny behind her, the actress is aware she’s potentially becoming a role model to her tens of millions of social media followers — a responsibility she doesn’t take lightly.

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“I'm not rushing to sign my next project,” she explains. “It's very important that I do not let people down, or let myself down, or be carried away by a very big mega project you just want to be a part of but you don't have any role to play, or you are just because there needs to be a girl, or there needs to be the hero's lover and nothing else.”

She also doesn't regret starring in Citadel: Honey Bunny, even if the journey was a difficult one.

“It's a great character,” Prabhu says. “Although I had sent many mails to Raj and D.K. to replace me and begged them to, now in retrospect, I'm just so grateful that they didn't, and they stuck by me and they stuck with me.”

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Citadel: Honey Bunny can be streamed on Prime Video.