Mumbai: While fans are quite excited to see the fresh pairing of Janhvi Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra in the upcoming film ‘Param Sundari’, Malayali actor Pavithra Menon slammed the makers for casting a Bollywood heroine as a girl from Kerala.
Questioning the casting of Janhvi as a Malayali girl, Pavithra asked the makers if they feel Malayali actors are less talented than Bollywood heroines.
In a re-posted video, which was earlier deleted, Pavithra shared, “I’m a Malayali and I watched the trailer of Param Sundari, and want to really address this — what’s the problem in hiring a proper Malayali actor? Hum kum talented hote hain kya? Mohiniyattam hi kar rahi hoti hai. Aisa nahi hota Kerala mein bhai. Jaise ki main baat kar rahi hun, Hindi mein. I can also speak Malayalam really well. (Are we less talented? All we know is Mohiniyattam. No, it’s not like that. I can speak in Hindi as well as Malayalam really well.)”
She added, “You know, humne bhi bade aise cheezein kiye hain, 90s Malayalam filmon mein when we had to show Punjabis ‘Balle, balle, balle’. Now its 2025. I think everybody knows how a Malayali talks and how they are as normal as anybody else. We don’t wear just jasmin flowers and do Mohiniyattam everywhere, and walk around the office and house. Please, request hai yaar. Thiruvananthapuram agar aap bol nahi sakte naa toh Trivandrum bol do, hum khush ho jaayenge. (You know, we too have done such things in the 90s when we had to show Punjabis ‘Balle Balle’. It’s a request, if u can’t say Thiruvananthapuram, then please say Trivandrum, we will be happy.)”
Pavithra’s video went viral and impressed netizens.
A fan shared, “Superb 👏👏👏👏 very well said. Enough of these silly stereotype 🙌🙌❤️❤️❤️.”
Another user commented, “This is the voice of every malayalee who has seen the trailer of ‘PARAMA SUNDARI’ 😬.”
However, a section of netizens trolled Pavithra for questioning Janhvi’s casting.
One user pointed out, “”Mohiniyattam kar rahi hoti hai” – she’s literally playing a mohiniyattam dance teacher in the film. What else is she supposed to do?.”
Another person asked, “So by your logic, Mrunal Thakur shouldn’t have played a Punjabi in Son of Sardar 2, Aishwarya Rai shouldn’t play North-Indian characters, and Rashmika, Keerthi Suresh, Parvathy and all should stop working in Bollywood films ?”
Directed by Tushar Jalota, ‘Param Sundari’ revolves around the love story of two individuals from different states — a girl from Kerala and a boy from Delhi.
The film is slated to be released on August 29.