Aishwarya Lekshmi has opened up about an unexpected cultural experience she encountered while shooting in Erode, Tamil Nadu, recalling that people asked her about her caste and gotra. The actor said the questions were unfamiliar to her because she had never been asked about her gotra in her personal life.
Speaking about the experience, Aishwarya stressed that she was sharing what happened to her personally and was not making a sweeping statement about the people of Erode or the region.
Aishwarya Lekshmi Says She Was Asked About Her Gotra
During a conversation with Rajini Haridas, Aishwarya recalled being asked about her gotra while she was working on a film in Erode.
The actor admitted that she did not even know her own gotra and found the question particularly striking because it had never come up in her life 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.
For Aishwarya, the experience prompted questions about why such personal details can still become part of social interactions.
“What difference does it make to you? That was difficult for me,” she said.
Her comments reflected her own reaction to encountering a social practice that she said was unfamiliar to her while growing up in Kerala.
A Different Cultural Experience During the Erode Shoot
Aishwarya also recalled how the location itself gave her the impression of stepping into another period. The team was shooting a section of the upcoming film set in 1996, but the surroundings appeared much older to the actor.
She said the atmosphere was so distinct that she even wondered whether audiences might assume 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.
The experience gave Aishwarya an opportunity to observe a way of life that felt noticeably different from the environment she was familiar with in Kerala.
Aishwarya Clarifies Her Remarks
Given the potentially sensitive nature of her comments, Aishwarya made it clear that she was speaking about her own experience rather than judging an entire community.
“I’m not saying everybody is like that, but this did happen,” she clarified.
That distinction is important, as the actor’s remarks were about a specific interaction she experienced during the shoot and should not be interpreted as a general characterisation of Erode or its residents.
Aishwarya Lekshmi’s Acting Career
A doctor-turned-actor from Thiruvananthapuram, Aishwarya Lekshmi made her acting debut with Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela in 2017. She subsequently gained wider recognition with films including Mayaanadhi, Varathan, Kaanekkaane, Ammu and Kumari.
Her filmography also includes the Tamil films Gatta Kusthi and Ponniyin Selvan: I and Ponniyin Selvan: II.
Aishwarya is currently seen in Aasha, which also features Urvashi, Joju George and Vijayaraghavan.
