Aishwarya Lekshmi Reveals How King of Kotha Trolling Affected Her Confidence and Career
Aishwarya Lekshmi has spoken about the bitter aftermath of her 2023 Malayalam movie King of Kotha, where the intense trolling of the movie had a huge impact on her confidence and her future projects in a process not only on her own but also on the way she will work with Dulquer Salmaan again.
King of Kotha was launched in Abhilash Joshiy’s direction, and it has Dulquer Salmaan’s presence and a big gangster-drama setting. When the film was released, it got mixed reactions from the general public and from film critics. Aishwarya was not simply reacting to the usual movie criticism; she was affected by the criticisms of her acting and dialogue delivery.
Aishwarya Lekshmi Opens Up About King of Kotha Backlash.
In an interview with TV presenter Ranjini Haridas on her YouTube channel, Aishwarya recalled how the trolling continued to affect her even though the film had finished its theatrical run.
She said the film had arrived amid big hype, but its reception made her feel that the Malayalam film industry had become hesitant about casting her. She also said Dulquer and other members of the film team were trolled.
Aishwarya admitted that some of the criticism about her performance made her question herself. She admitted that there were occasions when she wondered whether some of the negative comments about her acting were justified.
But the experience seems to have had a great effect on her self-confidence as criticism followed her into professional spaces.
‘Rajuvetta’ Incident Stayed With Her
Aishwarya recalled one of the incidents that happened while she was filming Hello Mummy in 2024. In King of Kotha, she said an assistant director mocked the way her character addressed Dulquer’s character as “Rajuvetta”.
Aishwarya said that the incident particularly hurt her because the dialogue had already become a subject of online jokes and trolling. Hearing someone from a film set make fun of it brought those negative experiences back.
That one and another incident in particular made the actress feel more and more aware of the criticism she had received.
Why Aishwarya Considered Avoiding Dulquer
Aishwarya also said that she later had an advertisement shoot with Dulquer Salmaan. She was worried about the reactions of the audience.
She said she was worried about this brand being criticized at the same time because of King of Kotha. She told the team about the potential repercussions and even said she didn’t think she could work with Dulquer anymore.
Her comments underline how social media trolls can take up more space than a movie’s box office numbers and affect an actor’s business decisions and confidence.
What happened to King of Kotha?
King of Kotha was Abhilash Joshiy’s directorial debut, and Dulquer Salmaan played the lead role. Aishwarya Lekshmi, Shabeer Kallarakkal, Prasanna, Gokul Suresh, Nyla Usha and Chemban Vinod Jose are also present in the movie.
The movie was a major gangster drama in Malayalam and was well-known before its release date. But it was less popular at the theatrical level than expected. Industry tracker Sacnilk has reported worldwide earnings of about ₹31.35 crore in total, with a production budget of about ₹50 crore.
In spite of the film's box office success and negative reviews about it, Aishwarya’s new comments on what happened after releasing it are more personal.
A more general conversation about trolling online.
Aishwarya Lekshmi’s experience also underscores the growing discourse on criticism and trolling in the entertainment industry. Obviously, the actors are always subject to reviews and audience feedback, but repeated criticism from their own audience on social media can impact them in many ways outside of a movie.
For Aishwarya, the King of Kotha experience seems to have been particularly difficult because the comments influenced how she perceived her own performance and professional collaborations.
The actress has worked in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu cinema over the years, and her candid story shows how she can carry on the emotional pull of a film’s reception long after the end of the theatrical show.
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