Actress Pavithra Menon slams Janhvi Kapoor’s Param Sundari for stereotypical portrayal of Malayalis
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Thiruvananthapuram: The trailer of Sidharth Malhotra and Janhvi Kapoor’s upcoming romantic drama Param Sundari has drawn criticism over cultural representation. Malayalam actress and singer Pavithra Menon accused the makers of misrepresenting Malayalis in Hindi cinema and questioned the decision to cast non-Malayali actors in such roles.
In an Instagram video posted on Thursday, August 14, Pavithra reacted to a scene where Janhvi’s character, Sundari, introduces herself in heavily accented Hindi as “Main Thekkapatil Damodaran Sundaram Pillai Kerala se.” She questioned, “What’s the problem in hiring a proper Malayali actor? Are we less talented?”
Switching between Hindi and Malayalam, Pavithra said such portrayals do not reflect reality in Kerala. She compared it to exaggerated depictions of Punjabis in Malayalam films of the 1990s and added, “It’s 2025. Everybody knows how a Malayali talks. We don’t just wear jasmine flowers and do Mohiniyattam everywhere.”
Clarifying that she had no personal criticism of Janhvi Kapoor, Pavithra said her concern was with authentic representation. The post received support from many followers, though some accused her of being ‘jealous’. She later deleted the video.
Param Sundari, directed by Tushar Jalota, is a cross-cultural love story featuring Sidharth as a North Indian man and Janhvi as a Malayali woman. The film is scheduled for release on August 29.
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Iran warns of ‘uncontrollable consequences’ after energy site strike
Qatar warns residents of ‘Elavated’ threat
Tehran/Doha: Iran’s President Massoud Pezeshkian has warned that attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure could lead to “uncontrollable consequences” affecting the entire world.
In a post on X, Pezeshkian said he “strongly condemns” the strikes that targeted the South Pars gasfield earlier in the day.
“Such aggressive actions will not achieve anything for the American Zionist enemy and their supporters. Rather, they will complicate the situation and could lead to uncontrollable consequences that will affect the entire world,” he said.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior has urged residents to remain indoors due to what it described as an elevated security threat.
Authorities have not provided further details, but the advisory comes amid growing concerns over the safety of energy infrastructure and civilian areas in the region.
