Suriya’s much-anticipated Retro released in theatres worldwide on May 1 amidst great excitement. However, the first-time collaboration between the Nadippin Nayakan and the diabolic filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj opened to mixed reviews. While most critics appreciated the effort and ambition, the movie failed to satisfy a certain section of the audience. Despite the negative talk from some quarters, riding on the back of excellent performances by Suriya and the rest of the cast, and masterful direction as always by Karthik Subbaraj, Retro, according to box office trackers, had a decent run in theatres—amassing over ₹200 crores by the end of its theatrical release.

Now, here’s the latest buzz: ever since the movie surfaced on Netflix a couple of days ago, a literal meme fest has erupted, especially among the Malayalam-speaking audience. And the reason? Well, hold on.

Santhosh Narayanan—as usual—reserved his best for Karthik. Kanima, a chartbuster from Retro, had already become a hit before the film's release. The craze only heightened after the release, with Suriya and Pooja Hegde delivering some graceful moves in a stunning single-shot sequence. Fans relished the song in theatres, and it remains a hit on OTT as well. But there’s a catch.

As we know, advanced platforms like Netflix offer regional language options for most films. In the case of Retro, what went wrong was the Malayalam version of the Kanima song. It has visibly flopped—sounding bizarre and unintentionally hilarious.

Audiences in Kerala have wasted no time trolling the Malayalam version of Kanima.

Let’s look at a couple of reactions:

 

While some viewers claimed the dubbing was worse than what is heard on local television channels, even ardent Suriya fans have taken to social media to express their disappointment.

This is just one example of the intense scrutiny that works of art—especially cinema—undergo these days. There is virtually no margin for error.

While the Kanima episode exposes the lighter side of things, it also serves as a reminder to filmmakers to ensure quality and consistency even in dubbed versions.

Meanwhile, after the success of Retro, Suriya has now moved on to his next project, helmed by Venky Atluri, while fans are eagerly waiting for Karthik Subbaraj’s next move.