Lovestruck: Celebrating two years of the tragic romance, Dia, which changed the fortunes of its lead cast

The film, directed by KS Ashoka, had Kushee Ravi, Pruthvi Ambaar and Dheekshith Shetty in lead roles.

Kushee Ravi as Dia, in a still from the film

February 7, 2020 is a day that Pruthvi Ambaar, Kushee Ravi and Dheekshith Shetty are unlikely to forget in a long time. This was the day that their Kannada film debut Dia hit screens. Directed by KS Ashok, who was, until then, known for the spine-chilling horror flick 6-5=2, Dia was quite the haunting love story, with its rather tragic ending tugging at the heartstrings of even the most hardened cine-goer. A sleeper hit, which was widely appreciated during its theatrical run (which was cut short owing to the pandemic) and later on OTT, the film also changed the fortunes of the lead cast for the better. Today, Pruthvi has multiple projects in Kannada and is Kollywood and Bollywood bound. In fact, his Hindi film debut is the remake of Dia, where he reprises his role as Aadi. Kushee too has a few Kannada films lined up, as well as a Kollywood debut, while Dheekshith has already forayed into Tollywood and has some Kannada films in his kitty.

To celebrate the occasion, the lead actors went live on social media to discuss life since Dia.

Pruthvi, who was shooting in Puttur, said, “We are very grateful to the love and affection we got after the release of Dia; the film quite literally changed our fortunes, I was a dancer and doing some work in Tulu films, Kushee was in theatre, while Dheekshith was doing TV shoes until then. Dia was a team effort, we got a good crew and cast together, which gelled well. On a lighter note, I think Dia (Kushee) was the villain of the story; whoever she fell in love, had bad luck befall them.”

Dheekshith, for whom February 7, 2020 is also the day that his TV show Naagin ended, added, “I geel blessed to have been a part of Dia. Honestly, it still feels like yesterday that we were promoting the film and gearing up for the release. It’s amazing that audiences still feel connected to the film after two years. It goes to show that Dia was more than just a film.”

The film followed Dia, played by Kushee, an introvert, who has a crush on her college senior, Rohith (Dheekshith), but is not able to share her feelings until much later, when their paths cross again in Mumbai, where they both work. All’s well for the newly-in-love couple, until one day, they meet with an accident while out on a bike ride. In hospital, Kushee is told that Rohith did not survive, which turns her world upside down. Disillusioned with life, Dia barely goes about her daily routines, until one day, she meets happy-go-lucky Aadi (Pruthvi) under a strange circumstance. Aadi makes it his mission to bring Dia out of her depression, and over the course of time, they fall in love. Just when it seemed that Dia had found happiness again, Rohith returns. What happens thereafter forms the crux of the narrative and the reason that audiences loved the film.

Dia is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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