When the trailer of Param Sundari released, fans lauded Janhvi Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra’s fresh chemistry, cute romance and light comedy in the Tushar Jalota film, backed by Dinesh Vijan. But many netizens were left divided by Janhvi’s portrayal of a girl from Kerala. Some claimed that Malayali girls are not always doing Mohiniyattam, whereas others pointed out that women from Kerala don’t just wear jasmine flowers in their hair. Malayali actor Pavithra Menon was one such Instagram user who questioned Janhvi’s casting in the film. Well, a Malayali influencer has now accused the makers of Param Sundari of using incorrect words and has slammed poor diction in the film’s trailer.

When Pavithra Menon shared the video regarding Param Sundari’s casting, it was removed by Instagram. She then re-uploaded it. Meanwhile, Malayali influencer Divya Nair’s Instagram handle reportedly got a copyright strike after she shared a video about the film. In an interview with Mid Day, Divya has now claimed, “Poor diction can sometimes be forgiven, but here, the Malayalam words itself 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? Also, 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.”

Giving another example, Divya shared, “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.”

In a recent interview during the promotions of her film, Janhvi addressed the criticism that her character has received after the trailer’s release. The actor explained that her character Sundari is half Tamilian and half Malayali, further noting that neither she nor her late superstar mother Sridevi are from Kerala themselves. While Janhvi will be seen as Sundari from Kerala, Sidharth is playing the role of a Delhi boy named Param. Are you excited to catch Param Sundari in theatres on August 29 this week?