Actress Malavika Mohanan had a tough time trying to ward off the attention of an incessant admirer recently. The experience was awkward and unpleasant for her. She said, “I have never really experienced something like this before. It’s something we have grown up seeing in movies, albeit in a more romantic way, but this was far from that. This was pure stalking. I met this person first in Chennai, when I had gone for my movie Master (2021). It was the first time I met him, and assuming he’s a fan, I thought he was really sweet. Then we moved to Baku (Azerbaijan). We were uploading stories on Instagram, and I had not shared my hotel location. He reached out to one of my team members, saying he wanted to meet me. At that point, I didn’t think he was the same person I had met in Chennai. He showed up, but I had left the hotel. Then, he came to Chennai after that again.”

She added, “He knew that Tiramisu is my favourite dessert. I had moved houses, so he sent it to my earlier address and that had his name too. It was a bit unnerving because he was geographically everywhere. Of course, there are people who keep meeting you at shoots, but this person was tracking me at different places, and that is not nice. Thoughtful gestures are sweet, but showing up everywhere is weird. It doesn’t feel safe.”

Though the Beyond The Clouds actress hasn’t taken any legal action yet, she has informed her core team, which always travels with her, and has asked them to be vigilant.

Addressing a bigger issue, she reflected, “Stalking has often been romanticized in films for years. This was my first experience with it. I have seen films where if a guy likes a girl, he stalks her and that is problematic. It’s not romantic. Consent hasn’t been given enough importance. It also comes down to feeling unsafe. If a person is doing this, you don’t know what he might do next! It’s worse when you are alone. This is not admiration, it’s just creepy behavior.”