Parvathy Thiruvothu has never been one to shy away from the headlines, both for her stellar acting performances and her various opinions. Apart from receiving plaudits for her work as an acid attack survivor in Uyare and her performance in the medical thriller Virus in 2019, she was also in the news in December for her views on the toxic masculinity present in the Vijay Deverkonda mega-hit Arjun Reddy, which sparked various debates amongst the media and fans alike. She once again has become the centre of controversy because of her latest project, Uroobinte Rachiyamma, based on the 1969 short story Rachiyamma, written by Malayalam literary icon Uroob. The film is directed by veteran cinematographer Venu, who last directed the 2018 Fahadh Fasil movie Carbon.

The controversy stemmed from the moment the actress’s look from the movie did the rounds on social media. Rachiyamma, the protagonist in the original, has dark skin, whereas in the still from the movie, Parvathy sports a much fairer look. Fans expressed their disappointment in this difference from the original on social media, and Parvathy gave her response.

Speaking at a recent Kerala Film Festival, Parvathy explained “When the time is right, we will have a conversation about Uroob’s Rachiyamma and why I played the character and what my take is. As for if I will ever represent a woman, who in real life is dark, it’s a very big question and the answer will be ‘no’. But when it comes to a fictional space and when the thing is about adaptation it is a big tricky space.”

Apart from Uroobinte Rachiyamma, Parvathy has Sidhartha Siva’s Varthamanam, and the delayed anthology film Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum directed by Vasanth. She also plans to step into the world of direction, either this year or in 2021.