A few weeks ago, the name Sheril G Kadavan wouldn't have struck a bell. But now, everyone on social media knows her as the ‘Jimikki Kammal girl’.
In just a matter of days, Sheril has become a wildly popular internet sensation, not just in Kerala but also neighbouring Tamil Nadu, where the dance video has gone viral. Indeed, the video of Sheril and other women from the Indian School of Commerce dancing to the song from the Onam release Velipadinte Pusthakam, has now become more famous than the original video.
Finally, Radio Mirchi caught up with the dancing star who has won over so many fans overnight. The video starts with a spoof of Gautam Menon's Vinnaithaandi Varuvayaa, which had Silambarasan falling in love with a Malayali Christian woman.
RJ Anand says that he's going in search of Sheril for the sake of all the Tamil ‘boys’ who have a crush on her. The first googly is that Sheril is not a student like many assumed she was. She's a professor at the institute and has been working there for the past two months.
Sheril and Anna, the other lead dancer in the video, then chat with Anand. The RJ's comments like 'Tamil Nadu is fully ogling you' aren’t exactly dignified, but a sportive Sheril just smiles through it.
To his question on whether she'd like to act in films, Sheril said that she'd give it a try if she gets a good role. Asked who her favourite hero from Tamil Nadu is, Sheril immediately answered that it was Ajith. Both Sheril and Anna also politely put down memes and troll posts that had mocked Tamil women and their beauty while praising Sheril and Anna. Tamil women are equally pretty, they said, and added that they don’t really discriminate between Malayali men and Tamil men.
The video also has the two women reacting to the memes that have sprung up on social media about them, including one creepy meme that shows someone searching for the way from their home to Sheril’s.
Sportingly, Sheril, Anna and a few others also recreate the dance with RJ Anand for the Radio Mirchi video.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)