Malayali Actress Pavithra Menon raised serious questions against Janhvi Kapoor's casting in Param Sundari as she has pointed out her heavy accent in the trailer.
What's Happening
"I am Pavithra Menon; I am a Malayali, and I watched the trailer of Param Sundari, and this is what I think," the actor began the video with these words on Instagram, which has been deleted now.
After a clipping shows Janhvi introducing herself in the movie trailer, Pavithra asks, "Wait, what? Before we go further into the trailer, I want to address this: 'What's the problem in hiring a proper Malayali actor?' Hum kam talented hote hain kya (Are we less talented)?" The actor switches to Hindi and adds, "This is not how it happens in Kerala. Like how I am talking in Hindi, I can also speak Malayalam really well."
Pavithra adds in Malayali, "Is it so hard to find a Malayali to play the role in a Hindi movie."
Slamming the streotype Bollywood practise of casting, she says, "We have done such things in Malayalam films of the 90s when we had to show Punjabis (does an exaggerated balle balle). But now it's 2025. I think everybody knows how a Malayali talks, and how they are as normal as anybody else. We don't just wear jasmine flowers and do Mohiniyattam everywhere."
Pavithra wrote in her caption: "I mean no hate to Jhanvi here but why try this hard?" The actor found support from many of her followers.
About Pavithra Menon
Pavithra is a singer and actor, who lent her voice as a playback singer in films like Mili and Jack & Daniel. She also appeared as an actor in the short film, Spit it Out, Margot!
About Param Sundari
The film deals with the cross-cultural romance between the two leads, one from Delhi and the other from Kerala. Apart from Sidharth Malhotra and Janhvi, the film also stars Rajeev Khandelwal and Aakash Dahiya in pivotal roles. Directed by Tushar Jalota, it is set to release on August 29.
