Veteran actor Mammootty and director Priyadarshan have collaborated on very few films, one of which is the 1999 movie ‘Megham.’ Alongside KPAC Lalitha, Sreenivasan, Nedumudi Venu, Cochin Haneefa, Dileep, and Captain Raju, the film featured two lead actresses: Pooja Batra, well-known to Malayali audiences through ‘Chandralekha,’ and Punjab-born Priya Gill.

In ‘Megham,’ Priya played the role of Meenakshi, a simple, rural girl, and won the hearts of the Malayalam audience. Priya entered Malayalam cinema after making her mark in Bollywood.

From modeling to cinema

Born in Punjab, Priya initially pursued a career in modeling. She won the title of Femina Miss India International in 1995 and represented India at the Miss International pageant that same year.

Following this, Priya made her debut in cinema, playing one of the lead roles in ‘Tere Mere Sapne,’ produced by Amitabh Bachchan. Although the movie did not fare well, Priya received numerous opportunities. She gained widespread recognition through the Bollywood film ‘Sirf Tum.’

Over the years, Priya acted in Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, and Bhojpuri films. She shared the screen with top stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Nagarjuna, and Ajith in movies like ‘Josh,’ ‘Red,’ and ‘LOC: Kargil.’

A sudden exit

In 2006, Priya disappeared from the film industry. Various reasons were speculated about her sudden departure, one of which involved a controversial video.

The video claimed to show Priya, homeless and starving, eating food meant for the residents of a gurdwara. The story spread across newspapers, causing immense distress to the actress. Even though the video was later proven to be fake, the incident deeply hurt Priya, prompting her to distance herself from both the media and films.

Some sources, however, suggested that Priya left cinema because she was unwilling to act in certain scenes that she was uncomfortable with.

Priya has remained out of the public eye for a long time. Reports suggest she currently resides in Denmark.

During her decade-long career, Priya acted in only a handful of films, yet she continues to hold a special place in the hearts of movie lovers.