It was just a week ago that an elated Anoop was giving away media interviews about how his Rs 25 crore (around $3 million) lottery win would change his family’s fortunes forever. A week later, the auto driver from the southern Indian state of Kerala experienced and understood the downsides of having big money and popularity. His daily life has taken a turn for the worse and he’s even released a new video explaining his plight.
In the viral video titled “Bumper adichaal ulla avastha”(Malayalam for ‘The plight after having won the bumper lottery prize’), he explains the limitless reach and popularity that the breathless media coverage of this lottery win has brought him.
“With every passing day, my plight is deteriorating… I’m unable to step out of home (as people are able to identify me everywhere, even if I’m wearing a mask)… To keep away from the attention, I’m having to move from place to place and shuttle between houses of relatives…People keep coming home asking for help and financial aid… However, I myself haven’t got the prize money and nobody is willing to believe me,” he laments in the video.
“Everyday, my plight is worsening. I’m unable to step outside. To keep away from the attention, I’m moving from place to place. My kid is unwell & that’s why I came here.Ppl keep coming home& ask for money. However,I myself haven’t got the prize money” #kerala 25cr lottery winner pic.twitter.com/AIDoEVUP8D
— Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) September 26, 2022
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The clip shows him embracing his little son, who is visibly unwell and coughing uncontrollably. Anoop says that he’s a millionaire now, but can’t even peacefully spend time with his son and take him to a hospital when the little one is unwell. “I’m in such a situation where I can’t enter my own house… even my neighbours are angry because crowds are flocking to my place,” he is seen saying in the clip.
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Anoop who has been feeding his family of four with the meagre Rs.20,000 ($250) that he earns every month, was astonished and beyond delighted on winning the lottery prize amounting to Rs 25 crore (around $3 million), of which he would receive Rs.15.75 crore ($1.9 million) following tax deductions.
“I am an ordinary person who doesn’t know a single thing about income tax and related formalities for having received such money…Whenever I receive the prize money, I will deposit it in the bank and utilise it only after a few years,” he said.
Considering the excessive and unprecedented attention that he has been witnessing over the last week, Anoop said that it would have been much more peaceful if he had won third place or so, instead of the top prize in the Kerala Onam (festive) bumper lottery.
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