Chennai, Jan 12 (IANS): There were rumours aswirl since Wednesday that the noted Malayalam actress Aishwarya Lekshmi, who has become popular across Indiu after appearing in 'Ponniyin Selvan-1' is in a relationship with Tamil star Arjun Das.

The rumour mills worked overnight after Aiswarya shared a photo of hers with Arjun along with a love emoji. The photo of the actors became viral, with fans of both Aiswarya and Arjun going gaga over it.

Aishwarya, however, came out with a post on Instagram stating that they are just friends and not in love and that the picture was shared on social media not to make a relationship announcement.

"I didn't think my last post would get so much attention," wrote Aishwarya. "We happened to meet, took a photo, and posted it. There is nothing else going on here. We are friends."

She added: "To Arjun fans who have been messaging me since yesterday, calm down. He is yours."

Sources in the Malayalam film industry told IANS that this photo was reportedly shot on the sets of the Malayalam gangster movie 'King of Kotha' in which Dulquer Salman is playing the lead. Arjun Das and Aishwarya are also acting in the movie directed by Abhilash Joshi, son of Malayalam's hitmaker, Joshi.

Malayalam superstar and former Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Gopi's son, Gokul Suresh, is also playng a major role in the movie.