Param Sundari
Slated for release on Aug 29, Param Sundari, the upcoming Janhvi Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra starrer, is already generating the kind of attention most studios would kill for, though not entirely for the reasons they had hoped.
A glitzy, cross-cultural love story between a Malayalee woman (played by Janhvi) and a Punjabi man (played by Sidharth), the film has positioned itself as a sweeping romance that ambitiously tries to bridge the subcontinent’s cultural gulfs. Three songs have already dropped, all receiving adulation from audiences. But it’s the trailer, and more precisely, Janhvi’s accent in it, that has kicked off an internet churn.
With over 45 million YouTube views, the trailer has sparked debate, particularly within the Malayalee community. At the heart of the backlash is Janhvi’s portrayal of a Malayalee woman, one filtered through awkward Malayalam pronunciations and surface-level mimicry. The accent, netizens said, feels less like homage and more like a costume that doesn’t quite fit.
Malayalam actress-singer Pavithra Menon took to Instagram to question why an authentic Malayalee actress was not cast instead, as there is no dearth of talented Malayalee actresses fluent in their mother tongue, able to embody the nuances of regional identity. Her frustration, which quickly found a sympathetic audience online, was not just about one actress or one film. It’s about a pattern in which South Indian identities, especially when filtered through Bollywood’s gaze, are flattened into palatable, comedic, or exotic tropes.
Many have drawn comparisons to Deepika Padukone’s performance in Chennai Express, a film that leaned heavily into Tamilian caricatures for laughs.
Zakir Khan
Performing at Madison Square Garden as an Indian, Hindi-speaking comedian is no small feat. Zakir Khan became the first Indian comedian to do so on Aug 17, making over 15,000 people burst into laughter and applause at the iconic American arena, located in New York City. “We created history!,” he exclaimed on Instagram, posting a carousel of pictures from the memorable night.
Opening the show was fellow comedian Hasan Minhaj, who later posted his own tribute to Zakir. Beaming with pride, he acknowledged what the moment meant not just for one performer, but for the idea that Indian comedy, in its most native register, could command a stage that has hosted the likes of Muhammad Ali, Beyonce, and Billy Joel. This isn’t Zakir’s first brush with iconic venues. In 2023, he became the first Asian comedian to headline the Royal Albert Hall in London, again, performing entirely in Hindi, as well as a show at the Sydney Opera House.
