Param Sundari on OTT: Renji Panicker was Janhvi Kapoor’s interpreter, say netizens; wonder how he kept a straight face at her Malayalam
Param Sundari, the Hindi film starring Sidharth Malhotra and Janhvi Kapoor, had been the subject of intense trolling during its theatrical release, for the merciless butchering of Malayalam
Last Updated: 07.15 PM, Oct 14, 2025
Param Sundari’s dropped on OTT, albeit on rental only, but that has not stopped netizens from dissecting the film, which had been the subject of intense trolling, especially from one section of audiences, during its theatrical run. Now that the film is on OTT, a lot of memes have sprung up on social media again, and, not surprisingly, they are about the absolute merciless butchering of Malayalam by leading lady Janhvi Kapoor.
In the film, Janhvi Kapoor’s Sundari and her younger sister Ammu, live in Kerala, but speak flawless and fluent Hindi, not only among themselves, but also with their cousin Venu (Siddhartha Shankar), who, like them, was born and bred in God’s Own Country. Both Sundari and Venu had brief stints in Mumbai during their college years, which could explain their having a handle on Hindi, but what about their inability to converse in what’s meant to be their mother tongue?
Renji Panicker reduced to explaining Malayalam in Malayalam to Malayalis
The gibberish that Janhvi passed off as Malayalam had Malayalis seething at the mockery of the language and all things that Bollywood thinks is quintessential to being Malayali – men wearing mundu only, women climbing coconut trees at the drop of a hat, and a life that is incomplete without kalarippayattu and jasmine flowers. Since the film’s OTT release, audiences have also been pointing out that renowned writer-actor Renji Panicker, who plays Sundari’s uncle in the film, not only kept a straight face in the face of the murder of Malayalam, but also served as interpreter for Malayalis.
Netizens have been compiling scenes from the film, in which Janhvi’s every line of ‘Malayalam’ to Renji, is countered by him repeating the same, albeit in a way it should have been pronounced, and then proceeding to answer her. “Translator Renji Panicker”, was one such post, where netizens commented that it was the director’s brilliance to cast a top-notch writer like Renji in the role, knowing fully well that audiences would not understand a word of what she’d say in Malayalam.
“For the first time ever, I had to rely on English subtitles to understand Malayalam”, wrote another, while one user wondered Renji’s plight at having agreed to be a part of the film and then being subjected to this atrocity. “Renji Panicker must have planned to stay away from home when the film came out”, “What a plight! From giving Suresh Gopi dialogues mixed with English to now having to translate Malayalam lines into Malayalam for the benefit of Malayali audiences”, these were among the comments that came in for Renji Panicker’s role in the film.
*Param Sundari and other exciting titles will be available on OTTplay Premium with an Amazon Prime Lite add-on*
FAQs:
Q: When is the OTT release date for the film Param Sundari?
A: The film Param Sundari will be available for streaming to all Prime Video subscribers starting on October 24, 2025. Currently, it is available for rent on Prime Video.
Q: Who are the lead actors in the film Param Sundari?
A: The romantic comedy film stars Sidharth Malhotra as Param and Janhvi Kapoor as Sundari in the lead roles.
Q: Who directed Param Sundari?
A: Param Sundari was directed by Tushar Jalota.