RJ Pavithra Menon Slams Bollywood Casting in Param Sundari
Malayali RJ Calls Out Bollywood Over Stereotypical Portrayal in ‘Param Sundari’
In a candid Instagram video this week, RJ Pavithra Menon, a Malayali herself, expressed her frustration over the casting of Janhvi Kapoor—a non-Malayali actor—as Tekhpatta Sundari Damodaram Pillai in the upcoming Bollywood film Param Sundari. The character, a South Indian woman romantically linked to a North Indian man, is part of a long-standing trend in Bollywood to portray Kerala and its people through stereotypical lenses.
“I’m a Malayali, and I watched the trailer of Param Sundari,” Menon said in the video, which she briefly deleted before reposting. “What’s the problem in hiring a proper Malayali actor? Hum kum talented hote hain kya? (Are we any less talented?)”
Menon highlighted the narrow depiction of Malayalis in Hindi films, often reduced to classical dancers or women adorned with jasmine flowers. “Mohiniyattam hi kar rahi hoti hai. Aisa nahi hota Kerala mein bhai. Jaise ki main baat kar rahi hun, Hindi mein—I can also speak Malayalam well,” she added, stressing that Malayalis are far more than the clichés shown onscreen.
She went on to question why Bollywood struggles to find authentic actors for South Indian roles, citing previous portrayals by Deepika Padukone in Chennai Express and Alia Bhatt in 2 States. “It’s 2025. We are normal people. We don’t walk around offices and homes performing Mohiniyattam. Please, request hai yaar—if you can’t say Thiruvananthapuram, just say Trivandrum, and we’ll be happy,” Menon said in her video.
The post has sparked a mixed response online, with many supporting Menon’s plea for authentic representation, while others pointed to the success of South Indian actors like Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Rashmika Mandanna, and Keerthy Suresh in Bollywood.
Directed by Tushar Jalota, Param Sundari is set to hit theaters on August 29.
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