Aishwarya Lekshmi has opened up about an unexpected cultural experience she encountered while shooting for an upcoming film in Erode, Tamil Nadu. The actor recalled being asked about her caste and gotra during the shoot, saying that the questions were unfamiliar to herand left her wondering why such details continue to matter in everyday interactions.However, Aishwarya was careful to clarify that she was speaking only about her personal experience and was not generalising about the people of Erode or the region.
Aishwarya Lekshmi recalls being asked about her gotra
In a conversation with Rajini Haridas, Aishwarya recalled being asked about her gotra while shooting in Erode. She admitted that the question was something she had never encountered before.“People over there have asked me what my gotra is, and I had newfound appreciation for Malayalees because nobody has asked me that in my life. I don’t even know my gotra,” she said.The actor explained that she found the question difficult to process because caste and gotra had never been subjects she had encountered so directly in her everyday interactions.“What difference does it make to you? That was difficult for me,” she said while reflecting on the experience.
Aishwarya Lekshmi describes a different cultural experience in Erode
The actor also spoke about the atmosphere surrounding the shoot and how the location gave her a sense of stepping into a different period.The team was filming a portion of the upcoming movie set in 1996, but Aishwarya said the surroundings felt much older to her. She even wondered whether the setting might make audiences assume that the story was set in an earlier era.“It was a very different life. We were shooting for a portion set in 1996. I kept asking the director, ‘Will people mistake this for a different era?’ The place felt very old. It had a very different culture,” she recalled.According to Aishwarya, the experience exposed her to a way of life that felt distinctly different from what she had known growing up in Kerala.
Aishwarya Lekshmi clarifies her comments
Aishwarya subsequently stressed that her remarks were based solely on what she personally encountered while shooting and should not be interpreted as a generalisation about the region or its people.“I’m not saying everybody is like that, but this did happen,” she clarified.A doctor-turned-actor from Thiruvananthapuram, Aishwarya made her acting debut with ‘Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela’ in 2017 and went on to gain wider recognition with ‘Mayaanadhi’. Her filmography includes ‘Varathan’, ‘Kaanekkaane’, ‘Ammu’, ‘Kumari’, the ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ films and ‘Gatta Kusthi’.She is currently seen in ‘Aasha’, which also stars Urvashi, Joju George and Vijayaraghavan.