Hebah Patel’s debut film was Ala Ela, and all those who saw her for the first time did not exactly approve of her look. The young girl looked out of place, awkward in her traditional attire. Talking to Telugu360.com, she says, “It was my first film and I got it without too much struggle. I was not happy with the make up and styling but I was new and didn’t know how to tell and whom to tell.

I genuinely didn’t know if I could protest because I thought I would lose it. When it came to Kumari 21F, cinematographer Ratnavelu asked me if I am comfy in my dress. It is a good thing that people didn’t like me in my disastrous look in my first film otherwise they wouldn’t have noticed me now. That is how you are supposed to look for a silver lining in every dark cloud.”