Debutant Malayalam actress Priya Prakash Varrier, who has taken the internet by storm, did not expect her small clip to go viral. As she is still getting used to the new-found fame, her family is finding it difficult to handle all the attention.
In an interview with The News Minute, Priya's mother Preetha said, "It is very difficult. But what can we do? We can't make anyone hate us by objecting. It will be seen differently."
Priya, the first year B.Com. student at Vimala college in Thrissur, has gone to her hostel to avoid all the attention that she is getting.
The 18-year-old actress became an online sensation after a Malayalam song Manikya Malaraya Poovi from the film 'Oru Adaar Love' was released. A small clip from the song, showing her expressive face, has gone viral.
Within days, Priya's Instagram account has gained nearly 1.8 million followers.
Reacting to Priya's popularity on social media and outside, Preetha said, "We never expected this to happen."
Preetha said the director of the film Omar Lulu has asked the actor not to give any interview.
"The director has told us strictly not to give any interviews," Preetha said.
"He has said she's to give interviews only after the film releases. The film has just started and they've shot only a little bit. I've sent her to the hostel because of all this noise," she added.
Talking about how she landed the role in the film, Preetha said, "We never thought much about it. She had a desire and so we took her to an audition. She'd gone for another audition last year called by the same team, when she was a Class XII student and they'd selected her for that film as well - but the shooting was during the board exams. So she couldn't go for it. They'd said then itself that she should come the next time there's a casting call."
Priya's mother informs that most of the pictures that are now going viral now are old when she did a ramp show.
"She had done modelling once. She did a ramp show. She's not the one who put all those pics on Instagram. They are all fake accounts. These pictures have been put up by photographers who had these images. We'd not taken these images from them. The ones she's put up are likely to be selfies with friends," she said.
