'Don't know if I can work with Dulquer Salmaan now': Aishwarya Lekshmi says King of Kotha trolling affected her career

Aishwarya Lekshmi recalled rejecting an advertisement shoot with Dulquer Salmaan after King of Kotha backlash.

In 2023, King of Kotha was one of the most anticipated films of the year, starring Dulquer Salmaan in the lead role. However, upon release, the film received negative reviews and failed to perform well at the box office. In a recent conversation with anchor Rajini Haridas on her YouTube channel, Aishwarya Lekshmi, who played the female lead, opened up about the impact of the backlash surrounding King of Kotha, revealing that the trolling she faced after the film’s release affected her to such an extent that she became hesitant to work with Dulquer again.

Aishwarya Lekshmi says she might not be able to work with Dulquer Salmaan again.

Aishwarya Lekshmi on King of Kotha trolling

Aishwarya recalled the trolling she faced after King of Kotha’s release and said, "In 2023, when King of Kotha released, which was a very hyped project, the reaction to it affected my career a bit. I could be wrong b but after that, it felt like the Malayalam industry was afraid to cast me anymore. Not just me; Dulquer and the film’s crew also faced trolls. My acting and dialogue delivery got trolled. As an actor, I have been questioned multiple times, and sometimes I am like, 'You are right."

She added that she does take good criticism, but the trolling and insults always affect her. She then recalled one "very insulting" incident and said, "Many people made fun of me for the way I called Dulquer ‘Rajuvetta’ in the film. It hurt me deeply when an assistant director (AD) called me that and made fun of me during the shooting of Hello Mummy (2024). Like that, many things happened. One mobile company wanted me for the Onam shoot with Dulquer, and I told them, please don't keep me because the backlash is very bad; you will be affected. So I really don't know if I can work with Dulquer now because that bad was the backlash."

About King of Kotha

Directed by Abhilash Joshiy and starring Dulquer Salmaan in the lead, the action drama is set in the fictional town of Kotha. The film follows Dulquer’s character, Raju, who returns to the crime-ridden town and gets entangled in its violent underworld. Aishwarya Lekshmi plays Tara, while Shabeer Kallarakkal, Prasanna and Gokul Suresh are also part of the cast.

However, despite the hype surrounding the film and a strong opening, King of Kotha received largely mixed-to-negative reviews, with criticism directed at its screenplay, pacing and execution. The film earned ₹31.35 crore worldwide against a reported budget of ₹40 crore.