Take it easy, Urvashi! 'Aasha' event speech triggers debate; Supriya Menon responds

“Two national awards, six Kerala state film awards, three Tamil Nadu state film awards and countless roles that remain etched in the minds of Malayalees. With all the love and admiration, I welcome her. Urvashi chechi, please talk to us. Please address us. We all love you”— this was how host Daksha Raveendranath delivered her speech welcoming actress Urvashi to talk during the promotional event of the movie Aasha.

However, things did not pan out as expected, as the veteran actress got irked by the anchor jumping between English and Malayalam in her speech. Urvashi, in her signature humour, criticised the anchor for mixing English into her speech and opined that she could have easily relied on the comfort of Malayalam. Few among the crowd cheered at this; actress Aishwarya Lekshmi was seen laughing while a feeble ‘sorry’ emerged from the mic of anchor Daksha.

The incident was taken lightly, and nobody made a fuss. However, nothing escapes Instagram influencers these days. They dug up the case and triggered a debate questioning actress Urvashi’s conduct.

Instagram influencer Carl Lafrenais said:

“When an anchor speaks in a mix of Malayalam and English, she is not doing it to show off. The event might be happening in a mall in Kerala, but it doesn’t end inside the mall. An anchor uses English so someone sitting in Bengaluru and Delhi would watch it and understand the content and the movie promotion. Kerala people are incredibly proud of Malayalam. Historically, we have never been so insecure about any other language. Such jokes made publicly can easily drop the confidence of an anchor. Speaking English doesn't make someone less Malayali and more arrogant."

Meanwhile, Supriya Menon, producer and wife of actor Prithviraj, said, “Why must language pride in Malayalam reduce if one communicates in another language? Baffling indeed.”

Meanwhile, responding to the issue, anchor Daksha wrote on Instagram, “First lesson for being an anchor: Develop a thick skin”. Ironically, the song Daksha chose for the post was A.R. Rahman’s all-time hit “Take It Easy, Urvashi”.