Mumbai: The controversy around Param Sundari, Maddock Films’ upcoming Hindi film starring Janhvi Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra, continues to snowball, this time, with social media influencers amplifying criticism of the film’s cultural representation.

After Malayalam singer Pavithra Menon posted a widely viewed video slamming Kapoor’s portrayal of a Malayali woman in the film, other voices have joined in. Among them is Divya Nair, a prominent Malayalam-speaking Instagram content creator, whose critique particularly highlighted Kapoor’s flawed diction and the film’s surface-level understanding of South Indian culture.

Nair’s video, which has since been pulled down by Instagram following a copyright complaint reportedly from Maddock Films pointed out multiple issues in the trailer, including the mispronunciation of Malayalam words and misuse of cultural symbols.

“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?,” Nair said in a conversation with Mid-Day.

She added that Kapoor's character name ‘Theykkapetta Sundari Damodaran Pillai’ is both linguistically incorrect and unintentionally comical. “In Malayalam, ‘Theykkapetta’ is slang for someone dumped. The surname is wrong — she pronounces it as ‘Pillai’, whereas in Malayalam, it’s pronounced ‘Pilla’.”

What has Janhvi Kapoor said about the criticism?

Defending her performance in the movie, Janhvi Kapoor said her character is “actually half-Tamilian and half-Malayali,” a statement that many saw as an attempt to sidestep the accuracy issue.

Pavithra’s critical view

What began as isolated reactions escalated rapidly after Pavithra Menon’s viral critique, which sparked widespread discussion on cultural representation in Hindi cinema. The situation intensified when multiple influencer videos, including Nair’s, were removed from Instagram due to copyright claims, triggering further public outcry around censorship and silencing of critique.

Param Sundari, directed by Tushar Jalota, is slated to hit theatres on August 29, 2025.