The internet has been abuzz over the past few days after actor Anupama Parameswaran opened up about a past relationship that she described as an experience of ‘narcissistic abuse.’ While she did not identify the person, her revelations quickly led sections of social media to speculate that she was referring to her Bison Kaalamaadan co-star Dhruv Vikram. In the second part of her conversation with Dhanya Varma, which has now been released, Anupama spoke at length about the severe physical and emotional impact the relationship had on her.

‘I was crying every single night for hours’

According to Anupama Parameswaran, there was little sense of stability in the relationship, with periods of intense affection repeatedly giving way to deeply distressing episodes. Recalling the toll it took on her, she said, “There were times when this person would say, ‘Let’s end this,’ and two days later he would say, ‘I can’t live without you, baby!’ Then there would be a patch-up. When all this abuse was happening, I was going through my own battles in my life. When you are going through extreme anxiety, it affects you physically. Panic attacks, anxiety attacks, yes, blackouts, I was losing a lot of weight… I had none of this; I was a happy and normal child. My right eye even started twitching, and we had to stop shooting… it was such a condition. Some conversation would happen, and I would throw up, and I would not eat anything. I lost so much weight. I was crying every single night for hours and hours, and I would have to get up and go for a shoot. All of a sudden my lacrimal gland, it got swollen and I had to get surgery done… There was a lot more.”

She further described the consequences as something that extended beyond what could be immediately seen. “There are wounds in my body, not physical abuse, and issues in my body that can never be healed- physical and mental. People asked me why couldn’t I get out of it, but no one understands that it was like a spider web. It is like textbook, the reasons, the gaslighting, the manipulation; it is the same. There was a point in the beginning of the year where I told this person that you are really affecting my peace and we can’t do this anymore… and slowly I start seeing through this person… catching their lies, confronting them. Slowly, they try to make me the problem.”

Anupama Parameswaran recalled how the situation eventually reached a breaking point. She said she noticed something that left her shocked, after which the situation escalated and both families became involved. She said the relationship’s carefully maintained facade eventually collapsed, adding that she reached a point where she had to threaten the person before he would even speak to her. “Because they never take accountability for anything they do. I had a conversation, and in the last 10 seconds, when I saw him, I could see the mask peeling off, and I could see the demon,” she shared.

‘Narcissistic abuse’

In the earlier part of the same conversation, Anupama had used three iconic characters from Tamil cinema to explain the unpredictable pattern she said she experienced in the relationship. Drawing a comparison with Shankar’s Anniyan, she described how the same person could seemingly transform from one extreme to another. “Many people are not aware of narcissistic abuse. One day he will be Remo. We will be showered with love and care and will possibly feel like the luckiest person alive. However, the next day he will be Anniyan. It will be the most brutal side, and he will not care a hoot about what is happening around him. The same person will play Ambi the next day, apologising to me for his mistakes and crying like a baby. He will promise to never repeat the mistakes, but then again the love cycle continues,” she remarked.

Looking back at those two years, Anupama said she felt she had not grown as a person but had instead gradually diminished under the weight of the relationship.

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Alleged relationship with Dhruv Vikram

Reports linking Anupama Parameswaran and Dhruv Vikram romantically surfaced in early 2025, when the two were working together on Mari Selvaraj’s Bison Kaalamaadan. Speculation intensified after an unverified photograph, purportedly showing the two sharing a kiss, circulated widely on social media. Neither Anupama nor Dhruv publicly confirmed their relationship or addressed the rumours.

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