Aishwarya Lekshmi Says King of Kotha Backlash Affected Her Career: ‘I Became Wary of Working With Dulquer Salmaan’

Aishwarya Lekshmi has spoken about the professional impact of the backlash surrounding King of Kotha, saying the criticism and trolling following the film’s release made her feel that filmmakers in Malayalam cinema had become hesitant to cast her. The actor also revealed that the experience made her reconsider working with Dulquer Salmaan on a later advertisement.

A film’s performance at the box office can often be measured in numbers, but for actors, the consequences of a release can sometimes continue long after a film leaves theatres.

Aishwarya Lekshmi has now opened up about experiencing that side of the industry following the 2023 Malayalam film King of Kotha. The period action drama, headlined by Dulquer Salmaan, arrived with considerable anticipation but received a largely unfavourable response after its release.

For Aishwarya, however, the criticism did not simply remain connected to the film. In a recent interview with Ranjini Haridas, the actor said she felt the backlash affected her subsequent career and changed the way she approached certain professional opportunities.

Aishwarya says the backlash followed her beyond the film

Aishwarya said she felt that filmmakers in the Malayalam industry became more reluctant to cast her after King of Kotha.

The actor also pointed out that she was not the only person who faced criticism. Dulquer and other members of the film’s team were also subjected to trolling following the movie’s release.

However, some of the criticism aimed specifically at Aishwarya’s performance stayed with her.

The actor acknowledged that certain comments about her acting did affect her because she felt some of the criticism was not entirely without basis. Dialogue delivery, in particular, became a target of online jokes and commentary.

One detail that was repeatedly mocked was her character’s use of the term “Rajuvetta” while addressing Dulquer’s character.

A painful moment during another film

Aishwarya recalled that the online criticism eventually spilled into her experiences on other film sets.

While shooting for Hello Mummy, she said an assistant director addressed her as “Rajuvetta” in a teasing reference to the King of Kotha backlash.

Although the remark may have been intended as a joke, Aishwarya said it hurt her.

The incident was particularly difficult because it came after a series of similar experiences following the release of King of Kotha. The episode, as she described it, illustrates how social-media trolling can sometimes migrate into real-world professional environments.

The backlash changed how she viewed working with Dulquer

Aishwarya also revealed that the experience influenced a later professional decision involving Dulquer Salmaan.

According to the actor, she was approached for an advertisement featuring Dulquer after King of Kotha. Rather than treating it as a routine professional opportunity, however, she became concerned about how audiences might react.

Aishwarya reportedly warned the team involved that the collaboration could attract another wave of negative commentary.

The actor eventually decided that it might be better for her not to participate.

She also revealed that she later withdrew from an advertisement she had been scheduled to shoot with Dulquer around the Onam season, again because she feared the response that the collaboration could generate.

The decision reflected how deeply the earlier trolling had affected her confidence around the pairing.

Why King of Kotha became a difficult chapter

King of Kotha was positioned as a major Malayalam release, with Dulquer Salmaan leading a large-scale gangster drama.

The film generated attention before release, partly because of its scale and Dulquer’s involvement. After its theatrical release in 2023, however, the response was considerably less enthusiastic than the expectations surrounding it.

The subsequent criticism extended to various aspects of the film, including performances and execution.

Aishwarya’s comments suggest that the consequences of that reception were not confined to reviews or box-office performance. For her, the online response became something she had to navigate personally while making decisions about future work.

The lasting impact of online trolling

Aishwarya’s experience also highlights a wider issue in the entertainment industry: the ability of social-media criticism to outlive the project that triggered it.

Actors routinely face public commentary about their performances, appearance and career choices. But when criticism becomes persistent or personal, it can affect how performers perceive subsequent opportunities.

In Aishwarya’s case, the backlash appears to have influenced not only how she felt about her performance in King of Kotha, but also how she approached working with one of the film’s leading actors again.

Her decision around the advertisement demonstrates the extent to which an actor may sometimes anticipate online reaction before deciding whether to take on a project.

Aishwarya Lekshmi’s career beyond King of Kotha

Despite the difficult experience she described, Aishwarya Lekshmi has continued to build a career across Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu cinema.

Her filmography includes projects such as Mayaanadhi, Varathan, Vijay Superum Pournamiyum, Ranam, Kaanekkaane, Amma Kanakku, Gatta Kusthi and Hello Mummy, among others.

Her comments on King of Kotha are therefore less about one film’s reception and more about the lasting emotional and professional effect that sustained public criticism can have on an actor.

For Aishwarya, the experience appears to have been a reminder that a film’s failure can sometimes follow its cast long after its theatrical run has ended.

Her decision to step away from an advertisement with Dulquer also shows how powerful that effect can become when an actor begins factoring anticipated online backlash into professional choices.