Param Sundari Review: Sidharth Malhotra, Janhvi Kapoor’s North-South Banter Checks All The Stereotypes!
Sidharth Malhotra and Janhvi Kapoor's Param Sundari is directed by Tushar Jalota. Here's our two cents on the film!
1.5 / 5
There were a lot of speculations around Sidharth Malhotra and Janhvi Kapoor’s Param Sundari after the trailer dropped. The skepticism was mostly related to the stereotypical North and South representation from the Bollywood lens, yet again. Well, to a great extent, no, TBH, the film is entirely dependent on the cliches. Directed by Tushar Jalota and backed by Maddock Films, the rom-com comes with a lot of drawbacks in terms of story, characters, and acting, and here is a quick review on what we liked and disliked in Janhvi Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra’s Param Sundari. Read on.
Plot
Param (Sidharth Malhotra) is a Delhi guy, son of a rich father who invests in startups, and all of them turn out to be a failure. Param then comes across a startup around a dating app which claims to help a person find their soulmate, and well, the soulmate can exist in any part of the world, BTW. Param decided to test this app first hand before investing the huge amount. And this guy ends up in a small town in Kerala. According to the app’s algorithm, Param’s soulmate is Sundari (Janhvi Kapoor). Sundari is a Malyali girl who runs a homestay and stays with her little sister. Now, all Param has to do is win Sundari’s heart and in this process, both of them fall in love. But as always there are a tons of very easy to guess issues, like, there is another guy, the cultural differences, of course, and the confusion between the heart and mind. Do they finally end up together. Yes, there is no factor of unpredictability in the storyline as such!
What Is Bad?
Story
Param Sundari does not have a strong and convincing plot. Not enough to keep you hooked even in the first few minutes of the film. One gets tired of the constant illogical plot development that tries a little too hard to make us believe in the world of Param and Sundari. The plot forgets to bring any kind of depth and value because it is too busy trying to check all the cliched boxes of the North-South romance. This boils down to making this Tushar Jalota film another stereotypical representation the two culture. The limited knowledge of one’s culture in the film is annoying and a big time disappointment. Sundari is just portrayed as the Malyali girl who wears gajra, is a dancer and loves to perform Mohiniyattam, and her attempt to educate Param about her culture is only limited to talking about the various actors from different part of South India. Oh, oh, she also has an elephant best friend! Param on the other is the Delhi guy who is a Bollywood nerd, not funny at all, and has charming looks, that’s it. The plot, dialogues, characters, punchlines or even the chemistry fails to come together to make Param Sundari a romantic-comedy. The film is filled with moments that makes Kerala looked staged and again limited to being a place that’s beautiful and where people celebrate Onam, and how can we forget the popular boat ride competition. In short, we come out of the theatres with no new information, or anything fresh.
In fact, if that was enough, the climax is another forced part of the film. Anyway, the film does not give you the scope to root for Param and Sundari.
Characters
Param Sundari does not have much likable characters, either. Not even Param’s best friend played by Manjot Singh. Param’s father (Sanjay Kapoor) and best friend were another stereotypical representation of Punjabis. Janhvi Kapoor’s Sundari could not convince us despite all the efforts with the cliche looks in gajra, Kasavu sarees and Malayalam dialogues. She is also a misfit here. Sidharth Malhotra’s Param is just another Bollywood charming hero.
Since the writing of Param Sundari is so flawed, the actors don’t have much to do with the roles and it’s all caricaturist. The direction and storytelling is so familiar that one is hit with boredom just a few moments into the film.
Also Read: Danger Song: Sidharth Malhotra, Janhvi Kapoor Track From Param Sundari Will Urge You To Shake A Leg!
What Is Nice?
The soundtracks are good, but well, it’s better without the plot. A few shots of the beautiful landscape are visually appealing.
Verdict
Param Sundari starring Janhvi Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra has nothing fresh to offer, and the skepticism around it was very much valid. There is no substance in the story and characters, and in 2025, this North and South banter is hard to buy. The film is currently running in theatres!
First Published: August 29, 2025 5:26 PM
