After a brief break from Malayalam cinema, actor Aishwarya Lekshmi has made a comeback through debutant director Safar Sanal’s Aasha, starring Urvashi and Joju George in the lead roles. During the drama thriller’s promotion, she sat down with renowned television presenter Ranjini Haridas for an interview, where she discussed some of the toughest phases in her personal and professional life, including a “very hard breakup” and the incessant trolling after the bombing of King of Kotha (2023).

As the conversation progressed, she also recalled gifting herself a luxury crossover SUV to lift her spirits during those trying times, revealing that many mocked her for it as well. Likening the act to Bollywood star Sushmita Sen gifting herself a 22-carat diamond ring, Aishwarya noted that she takes such good care of herself that her standards are very high.

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Aishwarya Lekshmi on navigating difficult breakup, professional setbacks

“I bought a car in 2024 with my hard-earned money. This was a phase where I was rebuilding myself after the breakup. It was a very bad phase, and I walked out of projects during that time. Only my friends knew I was going through all this. So, I wanted the equivalent of Sushmita Sen’s diamond ring. Since I love cars, I bought myself a Range Rover Evoque in Tribeca Blue colour. I wanted the delivery on February 14 as a Valentine’s Day gift to myself. So, if you want to date me, please know that this is what I gifted myself on Valentine’s Day, and this is my standard,” she shared.

 

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A post shared by Dulquer Salmaan’s car collection 369 (@dq_cars_369)

Aishwarya Lekshmi said that people were, however, hesitant to believe that she bought the car herself. She added that some even made derogatory comments about it on social media, indirectly asking what kind of shady work she did to afford such a car. The actor, however, stated that those remarks didn’t affect her.

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“One day, when I went for a shoot, one person asked me if it (the car) was a gift from someone. My immediate thought was, ‘If I had someone to buy me such gifts, why would I work in this movie?’ That was a very weird moment for me. Then I saw the comments on the post (showing her collecting the car from the store), where some asked, ‘What kind of work would she have done to buy this car?’ But those comments didn’t affect me. That (buying the car) was a personal win for me,” she added.

About Range Rover Evoque

The Range Rover Evoque’s on-road price in Kochi is about Rs 82.78 lakh, according to Carwale. The subcompact luxury crossover SUV comes in both petrol and diesel variants.

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According to its official website, the Range Rover Evoque can attain a top speed of 230 km/h with a maximum power of 184 kW. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.6 seconds.

Besides the Range Rover Evoque, Aishwarya Lekshmi reportedly also owns a Mercedes-Benz GLC 220d, which has an on-road price of Rs 98.17 lakh in Kochi.

Aishwarya Lekshmi’s film career

Aishwarya Lekshmi made her acting debut in director Althaf Salim’s Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela (2017), where she starred alongside Nivin Pauly. She has since appeared in movies such as Mayaanadhi (2017), Varathan (2018), Vijay Superum Pournamiyum (2019), Kaanekkaane (2021), Jagame Thandhiram (2021), Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022), Kumari (2022), Gatta Kusthi (2022), Archana 31 Not Out (2022), Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023), Maaman (2025), and Gatta Kusthi 2 (2026).