You might have seen those amazing videos that submerged media space when floods hit Georgia earlier last year. Many of us are still hitting the replay button as the scenes of hippos and the wild cats roaming free around the waterlogged streets of Tbilisi call for repeated viewing.
No doubt the videos and images are going viral. But did you know the flash floods and the torrential rains that lashed over Georgia had something to do with Kerala too?
As soon as the news of the floods started trickling in, the people of Kerala switched over to prayer mode. And, at the centre of all those prayers was Sai Pallavi, a cute girl with a killer smile. A non-Keralite reading this wouldn’t perhaps know who she is. The actress who made her acting debut in the raging hit titled Premam (Love) is now a star with almost the whole of Kerala singing paeans for her.
A still from Premam
What do the Georgia floods have to do with this new face of Mollywood, you tend to ask? Okay, here’s the answer. The actress who breathed all the freshness into Malayalam cinema with her debut performance and the charming smile, was away in Georgia pursuing her studies in medicine when the floods filled the news arena.
Soon after her film toppled records and swept Kerala’s film buffs off their feet, Sai Pallavi, who played the character of Malar, turned out to be the most sought-after girl. Thus was born yet another celluloid charmer spurring youngsters to turn instant fans, while elders who watched Malar on screen, wholeheartedly showered affection and love on her whenever a chance to talk about the film came up.
Sai Pallavi as Malar in Premam
And one day, when Georgia was numbed by nature’s fury, and the visuals of the people and animals in misery started flooding television and internet space, the Malayali screamed, “ OMG, our dearest Malar is also in Georgia, let’s get together and pray for her safety.” They indeed did, and called out to the Gods to keep her safe and away from any harm. The Gods, of course, proved to be kind.
The vibrant social media space too got into Malar mode, posting and sharing digital prayers every minute. Some of the fans even went overboard, churning out weird hypotheses on why the Georgia floods actually happened. One of them scribbled : “The floods happened as a result of black magic to bring Malar back to Kerala, where she belongs, and where she is adored and loved!”
All said, Malar is what Kerala loves at the moment. If you thought a state in love is ridiculous to watch, you haven’t watched Premam!
