KOCHI: From relative obscurity, Thrissur girl Priya Prakash Varrier shot to superstardom, and all it took was a wink.Ever since the track Manikyamalaraya Poovi in her debut movie, Oru Adaar Love (An Extraordinary Love), was released, life has not been the same for the 18-year-old undergraduate student.
In two weeks, her Instagram followers have climbed to over 4 million and she tops Google’s most-searched celebrity list.
It was through an audition that Priya, who occasionally does modelling jobs, was selected as a junior artiste in Oru Adaar Love. But once the shoot began, director Omar Lulu felt Priya was “too cute and striking” to play a junior artiste, and recast her in a meaty role.Omar’s hunch proved right, as her 28-second clip from the song went viral not just in India, but in Pakistan, the UAE and other Gulf countries.
But the overnight fame has made Priya uneasy. “I am clueless about handling this. Not in my wildest dreams did I think this could happen,” she said.
“The scene was an impromptu one. Omar sir asked whether Roshan Abdul Rahoof and I could do the thing with the eyebrow. We tried and it came out quite well. Then, on second thoughts, he asked me to wink too. We never imagined this could be a life-changing expression,” she added.Film offers have been pouring in, but Priya has decided she will sign one only after she is done with Oru Adaar Love.
As with her new-found fame, Priya wasn’t equipped to deal with the negativity either. When a case was registered against her and the director in Hyderabad, Priya was hurt.“We were disappointed and tense because of the case. We are all beginners and our only way to cope was to motivate each other,” she said.However, the Supreme Court’s decision to stay criminal proceedings against her and Omar has come as a relief. “We are relieved. We thank all the well-wishers, fans and the media who supported us.”
