The trailer of Param Sundari has captured the internet's full attention. While many loved Janhvi Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra's new pairing, the film has also sparked a debate about Janhvi's character, Sundari, a girl from Kerala. A section of people is not too impressed with the way Janhvi's character was written and presented.
Malayali audiences, in particular, pointed out that the portrayal leaned too much on stereotypes - from jasmine flowers to Mohiniyattam references. Actor Pavithra Menon even shared her views on Instagram, questioning the casting. The video was briefly taken down before she re-uploaded it. Around the same time, influencer Divya Nair also faced a copyright strike after sharing a video about the film.
Speaking to Mid Day, Divya explained her concerns, "Poor diction can sometimes be forgiven, but here, the Malayalam words themselves aren't clear or correct. The film was shot in Kerala on a massive budget. Why couldn't the makers spend a fraction of that money on hiring a local dialect coach?"
She even gave an example from Janhvi's introduction scene. "In the scene where Janhvi introduces herself as Theykkapetta Sundari Damodaran Pillai, the result is unintentionally hilarious, as in Malayalam, 'Theykkapetta' is slang for someone dumped."
Divya Nair also highlighted issues with pronunciation. "The surname is wrong - she pronounces it as 'Pillai', whereas in Malayalam, it's pronounced 'Pilla'. Bollywood had better options. Nayanthara, Keerthy Suresh, Nithya Menen, Sai Pallavi, or Samantha [Ruth Prabhu] put in effort and respect the languages they work in. They would have done justice to the role."
Earlier, Janhvi Kapoor spoke about the chatter around her character. In a chat with ET Digital, she shared, "Of course, I'm not a Malayali, and neither was my mother (Sridevi), but my character is actually half-Tamilian and half-Malayali. I've always been very interested in that terrain and that culture, and I'm also a huge fan of Malayalam cinema. So yeah, I think it was just a very fun, interesting story, and I'm so happy and grateful that I could be a part of it."
Directed by Tushar Jalota, Param Sundari will hit the big screens on August 29.