I'm excited about paying a tribute to Simran ma'am: Priya Prakash Varrier

Time of India

19-05-2025

'Ajith sir is a beautiful human inside and out. To have the privilege to get to know him, spend time, and have conversations with him was the best takeaway (from GBU ) for me," says Priya Prakash Varrier.
Right now, I'm looking forward to being more active in Tamil,' says
Priya Prakash Varrier
, who made her Tamil debut earlier this year with Dhanush's Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam ( NEEK ). In a chat with us, the actress, who states that she feels 'blessed and grateful' for the love coming her way for
Good Bad Ugly
( GBU ), talks to us about her career and what lays ahead. Excerpts from the interview:
'I DIDN'T KNOW I WOULD BE PERFORMING THOTTU THOTTU PESUM'
Speaking about GBU , Priya says, ' GBU is my second film in Tamil, and the audience has turned it into a huge celebration. The acceptance I got for it has made me happy and satisfied as an artiste. I didn't exactly know what I was going to do in the film or that I would be performing the song Thottu Thottu Pesum ( Ethirum Puthirum ). 'I'm excited about paying a tribute to a legendary actress like
Simran
ma'am.'
'Ajith sir and I spoke about family, travelling, and cars'
Sharing her working experience with GBU co-stars Ajith and Arjun Das, she states, 'Ajith sir is a beautiful human inside and out. To have the privilege to get to know him, spend time, and have conversations with him was the best takeaway (from GBU ) for me. On the set, we spoke about family, travelling, and cars. It was also great to work with Arjun Das. He is sweet and passionate. He is very into his work and was a very supportive co-star.'
'MY CHARACTERS IN NEEK AND GBU WERE POLAR OPPOSITES'
Priya says NEEK was a good platform for her entry into the Tamil industry. 'I was listening to a lot of scripts in Tamil, but was waiting to start out with the right project that challenged and excited me. I felt NEEK would be a great kickstart for my career here. My characters in NEEK and GBU are polar opposites. Preethi ( NEEK ) is like a girlnext-door, while Nithya ( GBU ) is a bit on the wilder side.'
'ADHIK IS CHILL; DHANUSH SIR IS SERIOUS'
The actress reveals how different Dhanush and Adhik Ravichandrann (director of GBU ) are when it comes to direction. 'Adhik is more chill; he enjoys the process and has fun on set. With him, you have no clue what you are doing. He surprises you and makes you surprise yourself. Dhanush sir is technically sound, disciplined, and professional. He is serious when it comes to what he needs. He told me that Preethi isn't coy and is rather straightforward. That helped me define my character in NEEK .'
'LANGUAGE BARRIER HASN'T BEEN MUCH OF AN ISSUE FOR ME'
Priya considers herself fortunate to have already worked in five languages in a short span of time. 'For me, there hasn't been much of a language barrier. I was not familiar with Kannada and Telugu, but I can understand both languages now. I can also talk a little bit of Telugu. But learning Tamil and Hindi have pretty much been easy. Right now, I'm looking forward to being more active in Tamil.'
'I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE WINK GOING VIRAL; IT CHANGED MY LIFE'
Having rose to fame as the 'wink girl' (her winking in the Malayalam film Oru Adaar Love (2019) went viral), Priya shares, 'I'm grateful for it (the wink going viral) because it changed my life. Only when I do something bigger than that will people resonate with it. Right now, more people are talking about GBU in reference to me. So, I hope to keep growing as a performer and break my track record with each project.'
'TROLLING AND HATRED DID NOT TAKE A TOLL ON ME'
Shortly after she became a sensation, Priya was also subjected to trolling. 'When I was shown a lot of love, I was very neutral to it. That's why the trolling and hatred did not take a toll on me. I was pretty neutral to it. It's important to keep yourself grounded and focused on what you want to do in life. It's very easy to get carried away in all this,' she opines.