When makers shared the first look teaser of Janhvi Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra’s upcoming film Param Sundari, several netizens were reminded of Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone’s iconic Rohit Shetty action comedy Chennai Express (2013). The trailer further made many fans call the Sidharth and Janhvi-starrer a Gen Z version of Chennai Express, or Chennai Express lite. It was maybe the North meets South love story, or Janhvi’s diction as a girl from Kerala which made fans remember DP’s ‘bakwaas dictionary’ dialogue. Well, Param Sundari’s lead stars have now reacted to these comparisons, calling it a compliment.

In a recent interview with Mirchi Plus, Janhvi Kapoor shared, “It’s a hit movie, and it is an iconic movie. But Deepika (Padukone) played a Tamilian in the film, which if you think about it is a generalisation happening from the people who are comparing the two films. I am from Kerala in the film, and not all people from the South can be grouped together. It’s a different milieu altogether, and it’s not like that this is a repetitive thing at all. 2 States was similar, but it came before Chennai Express, and these kinds of films aren’t being released every year. Anyways people aren’t comparing us to something that needs to be forgotten, Chennai Express was an iconic film, with iconic characters and actors.”

Sidharth Malhotra, on the other hand, explained, “We don’t mind the comparison at all, I think it is a compliment. I love that film, and I am a fan of Rohit Shetty films. People remember certain things due to the nostalgia factor that is connected to them, even though I don’t think that the two films are the same. Shah Rukh (Khan) sir didn’t exactly play a guy from Delhi, and they were definitely not in Kerala, and Janhvi is playing a half Malayalam half Tamilian in the film, but it is definitely a compliment being compared to it.” Sidharth further shared that Param Sundari is about bringing the rom com genre back to the industry, citing examples of films such as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and Hum Tum (2004).

Directed by Tushar Jalota and backed by Dinesh Vijan’s Maddock Films, Param Sundari is all set to arrive in theatres on August 29.