‘Bollywood owes Malayali women an apology’: Shruti Sharanyam slams Janhvi Kapoor’s 'Param Sundari' act

Dubai: “Bollywood owes Malayali women a big apology.” That was the blunt message from Malayalam filmmaker Shruti Sharanyam, who took to Instagram earlier today to criticise the portrayal of a Malayali woman in Maddock Films’ upcoming production Param Sundari.

Sharanyam, known for B32 Muthal 44 Vare, said she was “sick of watching ‘Thekkapetta Sundaries’ and ‘Shalini Unnikrishnans’” dominate her feed, calling out Bollywood for reducing Kerala’s women—hailing from India’s most literate state and a leader in the UN Human Development Index—to “coconut-carrying, jasmine-wearing props with no brain cells.”

She contrasted this with Malayalam cinema’s global reputation for depth and originality, while Bollywood, she argued, continues to recycle “six item songs and slow-motion fight scenes as storytelling.”

“Honestly, the only dumb[expletive] here is the stereotype you keep recycling,” she added.

Sharanyam’s post echoed a wave of criticism from Malayali influencers and actors who have condemned Param Sundari for reinforcing tired caricatures.

The controversy centres on Janhvi Kapoor’s character, Thekkapetta Damodar Pillai Sundari, a name that has already been widely mocked on meme pages and social media. Many asked why Bollywood couldn’t cast a Malayali actress in the role.

Influencers like Dubai-based radio presenter Pavithra Menon and actress Divya Unny questioned the film’s writing and casting choices, arguing that Bollywood repeatedly erases authenticity when depicting Malayali women. Echoing that sentiment, Gulf News Entertainment Editor Manjusha Radhakrishnan noted in her editorial, “And Bollywood, once again, has reduced an entire culture to a cardboard cut-out.”

Kapoor, however, defended her role in a recent interaction with ET Digital. She explained that her character is not fully Malayali but “half-Tamilian and half-Malayali.”

While acknowledging that she does not belong to either community, she said the script gave her a chance to “explore her roots.”

“I’ve always been very interested in that terrain and that culture, and I’m also a huge fan of Malayalam cinema. So yeah, I think it was just a very fun, interesting story, and I’m grateful I could be part of it,” Kapoor said.

For many critics, though, Kapoor’s clarification misses the point. The uproar isn’t just about one character but about Bollywood’s long-running pattern of flattening Malayali women into stereotypes for comic relief or token exoticism.

As Malayalam cinema continues to be celebrated globally for its grounded and inventive storytelling, the backlash to Param Sundari has become symbolic of a deeper frustration: Bollywood’s refusal to move past caricatures when portraying one of India’s most dynamic cultures.