The new Bollywood romance Param Sundari set out to bridge the cultural gap between North and South India, but ended up widening it.
Instead of capturing nuances of a culture, it lazily falls back on cliches to make the characters more like caricatures. Jasmine flowers in the hair, heavy accents, broken Hindi, and names that sound like they were pulled out of a 1970s drama—this is the tired toolkit Bollywood refuses to let go of.
The Hindi film industry has clearly not learned anything from the past mistakes, as it continues to stereotype South Indians; this time victims were the Malayalis.
But, credit where it’s due. Tushar Jalota’s direction does take a few swings at dismantling old cliches about South India.
It reminds us that Rajinikanth is a Tamil superstar, not the “face of the entire South”—since every region has its own icons. It dodges the tired idli-sambar food trope and even shows women in outfits like crop tops and skirts.
But then it backslides.
Mumbai-made South India
Enter Thekkapetta Sundari Damodaran Pillai, a Malayali woman played by Janhvi Kapoor. First of all, it’s highly unlikely for a 20-something woman in Kerala today to have such a name.
The character, with jasmine in her hair, broken Hindi, awkward English, and a compulsive need to mock North Indians, feels like yet another tired Bollywood caricature. As a North Indian, I find it disappointing that the industry keeps flattening South Indians into stereotypes instead of portraying them as real people.
The truth is, a modern Malayali woman is as diverse as any other—working in tech, arts, academia, or business, with evolving fashion choices and global exposure.
Some of the smartest and evolved women I know are from Kerala. Yet on screen, she is put in a box and designed to look “authentic” for a North Indian gaze.
And, it’s not just the women who are stereotyped. Malayali goons are suddenly Kalaripayattu masters, the landscape reduced to endless coconut trees and backwaters, with obligatory Mohiniyattam references and nods to Mohanlal.
It’s hardly the first time Bollywood has shown such ignorance—Sundari Damodaran Pillai also reminds you of Shalini Unnikrishnan, a Malayali character played by Adah Sharma in The Kerala Story (2023).
Unnikrishnan too wore mullapoo, saree, skirts, and crop tops. She, too, spoke in broken English.
The Kerala Story was widely criticised for its portrayal of the state and its communities, but the film still bagged two National Awards.
And, one cannot forget Chennai Express (2013). Though the film was a blockbuster hit, Deepika Padukone’s exaggerated Tamil-English pronunciation almost hijacked the entire narrative. It was borderline offensive.
In the end, Param Sundari is another glossy, tone-deaf Bollywood take that only thickens the North-South divide.
Until the industry moves beyond stereotypes, it will keep insulting the culture it doesn’t understand.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)