Director Alphonse Puthren developed a cult following with his 2015 Malayalam film Premam, which featured Nivin Pauly and Sai Pallavi in the lead roles. In a recent interview, Sai gave the filmmaker and his movie the credit for making her feel confident about her looks. Sai also spoke about being 'a very insecure person' before she filmed for Premam with Alphonse.