Mithila Palkar Is Still Wondering How Her Cup Song Went Viral

Actress Mithila Palkar, who will be seen in the upcoming Hindi film Karwaan alongside Dulquer Salmaan and Irrfan Khan, first came to public notice when her take on Anna Kendrick's Cup Song from the film Pitch Perfect went viral. The video, her rendition of the Marathi song Hi chaal turu turu, has garnered more than 3.8 million views to date.

Since then, Palkar has gone on to become one of the most recognisable faces in Indian digital content, starring in movies, advertisements and web series. However, she maintains that she still doesn't know what exactly it was that made her an internet sensation.

When we asked her about whether she has figured out the rules of the internet, the actress says, "I really haven't. I don't know if there's a formula. What I did was really on the whim. There was no plan as such of 'I'm going to play these cups, I'm going to put it up and now this is going to go viral.' I don't know the formula yet. I'm just fortunate that I got to reach out to so many people after that song and because of that song. A lot of people say the relatability and and the fact that it's something you watch and say, 'Hey I can do this too'. I guess that's it but I don't know if there's a A+B=C formula."

Palkar says her love for singing and the fact that she was free one summer afternoon led her to make the video. She also points out how subpar the production of the video was. "You can hear ambient noises. Firstly, it's shot on a mobile phone camera. Secondly, if you hear it keenly, you will know there's a bicycle sound behind. Then one of my mentors said, 'At least you should have worn decent clothes. At least you should have found a decent background.' That was not part of it! I didn't think this was going to make me reach out to so many people or go beyond India even, honestly."

Karwaan, directed by Akarsh Khurana, releases in theatres on 3rd August, 2018.