In a twist befitting a campus love story, it appears that the wink that launched a thousand memes and turned 18-year-old Priya Prakash Varrier into a national heartthrob may end up breaking a million hearts.
‘Manikya Malaraya Poovi’, the song from Malayalam filmmaker Omar Lulu’s forthcoming film Oru Adaar Love , which went viral on social media, led to a debate on whether it should be retained on YouTube. This is in the wake of a complaint being filed against it in Hyderabad on the grounds that the song hurt the religious sentiments of a particular community.
Mr. Lulu told a Malayalam news channel on Wednesday that he would not like to hurt anyone’s religious sentiments. “We never intended to hurt anyone through its lyrics, but unfortunately a case has been filed,” he said, adding that he was also receiving support from a lot of people.
On Wednesday, a complaint was registered at the Falaknuma police station in Hyderabad by a group of individuals who objected to the lyrics, alleging that it talked about Prophet Mohammed and his wife Hazrath Khadeeja in a manner that would hurt sentiments of Muslims.
“The complainants have raised objection both to the lyrics of the song and the visuals. We have registered a case and are investigating,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Syed Faisal.
The song, featuring 18-year-old Priya Prakash Varrier in her maiden film, has already registered over 15 million views on YouTube. Varrier’s seesaw with her eyebrows and the lingering wink turned her into a social media sensation overnight.
A star is born
In just two days, the young actor’s Instagram account added over two million followers. Her Facebook page, where she started posting on February 10, has already added over 2,50,000 followers. And on February 11 and 12, the words ‘Priya Prakash Varrier’, ‘Priya Varrier video’, and ‘Priya Varrier Instagram’ were some of the most searched for words on Google in India.
Varrier is a B.Com student at Vimala College, Thrissur, while her co-star in the viral clip, Roshan Abdul Rahoof, was one of the finalists in the Mazhavil Manorama D4 Dance Show.
