Heart over App – Beyond Bollywood

Director Tushar Jalota’s clichéd romcom feels tired, working neither as a romance nor as a comedy. Sidharth Malhotra and Janhvi Kapoor look stunning, but their performances don’t really stay with you. Sachin-Jigar’s music offers some relief.

Rating: ⭐️💫 (1.5 / 5)

By Mayur Lookhar

Tak Dum Tak Dum Tana Dana NaNa Re, Tak Dum Tak Dum Tana Dana NaNa Re. Saiyaara and its ‘dhun’ hasn’t even died down, and now the nation is hooked to Pardesiya from Param Sundari (2025). Produced by Maddock Films and directed by Tushar Jalota, whose wife Sharada Karki has been a leading creative producer at the banner for years.

The film stirred controversy even before its release, with accusations of stereotyping South Indians, particularly Malayalees, and objections from some in the Christian community over a romantic scene set in a church. The trailer failed to impress, but the one thing generating real buzz was the music. Pardesiya became a rage, and just days before release, the makers dropped three to four more tracks, most of which struck a chord. What stood out was how the playback singers were given the spotlight at a film event, while the lead cast gracefully stayed in the background.

This reviewer wasn’t around in the days of grand muhurats and music launches, but seeing singers take centerstage at a film promotion today is truly a sight. Param Sundari’s music shows promise, but like in the old days, can it really carry a film on its own?

Story

Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Param Sachdev (Sidharth Malhotra) has so far only burnt through his father’s money. He comes up with a business idea for a unique dating/matchmaking app that aspires to live up to its name “Soul Mate”. The start-up needs funding, and as always, Param turns to his filthy rich dad Paramjeet (Sanjay Kapoor) to bail him out. Papa agrees, but on one condition, that his son must test the app by finding a soulmate himself. There’s no swiping here; instead, the app pairs him with Sundari Pillai (Janhvi Kapoor), who lives in picturesque Kerala. What begins as a secret ‘love business’ soon sees Param genuinely falling for the Malayalee beauty.

Screenplay & Direction

While pitching the Soul Mate idea to his father, Param argues that this generation relies more on artificial intelligence than its own intelligence. It’s a world driven more by data than by emotion. Fair enough, but Tushar Jalota, Gaurav Mishra (story), and Aarsh Vora (screenplay) seem to miss a basic truth about dating or matrimonial apps. Dating apps don’t ask for sensitive details like your address or phone number, while matchmaking platforms may share some professional, personal, or family information, but most such apps are unlikely to share your residential address. Yet here we have Param showing up at Sundari’s homestay in Kerala, which she runs with her uncle Nair (Renji Panicker). Later, it turns out that it wasn’t Sundari but her little sister Ammu (Inayat Verma) who signed her up on the app. But even if Sundari had done it herself, a man landing at her doorstep without her knowledge, doesn’t that come dangerously close to stalking?

And what message does the film send by showing a 13-year-old girl, Inayat Verma, using a matchmaking or dating app? Thankfully, the app turns out to be a scam, with Param himself being duped. Through this story, Gaurav Mishra and Tushar Jalota highlight a lonely world that leans more and more on technology to find companionship. It begins with technology, but in the end, the message is clear, trust the heart over the app. The film, however, fails to be beyond its messaging.

First it was Vikramaditya Motwane’s CTRL (2024), and now Param Sundari. You can’t help but wonder why Bollywood still can’t think beyond love when it comes to exploring AI.

The era doesn’t matter, Bollywood romcoms have always relied on tried-and-tested tropes, which is fine. The problem with Param Sundari is the lack of cohesive screenplay. Take away the music, and there’s little in the writing that justifies a full-length feature.

This is yet another Bollywood film that tries to promote cross-culturalism without really understanding the other culture. More often than not, such stories are told through a North Indian gaze, with a Hindi-speaking man at the center. Rarely do we see films where a boy from the South travels north and finds a Hindi-speaking soulmate. The use of terms like ‘Mallu’ and ‘Madrasi’ led Malayalees to rightly call out the film for stereotyping. To be fair to Jalota, his film does criticize the ignorance of the two North Indian tourists, Param and his Sikh friend Juggy (Manjot Singh). But if the trailer itself made few Malayalees see red, the larger goal of cross-culturalism is already lost.

There’s really no excuse for staging a cringeworthy romantic scene in a church between a Malayalee Brahmin and a Delhi boy. The portrayal of a Malayalee nurse isn’t any better. Usually, these characters are reduced to lusty stereotypes, but here Jalota creates a new one, through Jincy (Gopika Manjusha), a nurse shown lusting after Param.

Save for the initial 10 minutes, Param Sundari takes a downward slide the moment the drama shifts to Kerala. The songs offer some relief, but the drama on either side of them makes it an insufferable experience. The film reeks of a Chennai Express (2013) hangover, though this reviewer always felt the Shah Rukh Khan–Deepika Padukone starrer was overrated.

Tushar Jalota’s first film Dasvi [2022] had an inspiring story, but the reviews were far from flattering. With Param Sundari, the disappointment runs even deeper.

Acting

Sidharth Malhotra shows some promise early on, but the spark fades once the story shifts to Kerala. From there, Param is written almost like a wannabe SRK, and it just doesn’t land. The weak writing doesn’t help, and Malhotra too fails to leave a mark. Screen presence has always been his strength, yet 13 years into the industry, the energy feels slightly missing in Param Sundari.

Ah, Janhvi Kapoor. For all her shortcomings, we’ve often admired her for being an honest trier. But even her most loyal fans will find it hard to defend her recent choices and prolonged poor form. One wonders how this story was even pitched to her. Did Janhvi see shades of her late mother Sridevi in this character? Her opening dance expressions certainly echo her mother, though filling those shoes is near impossible. Sadly, Janhvi falls flat as Sundari. She’s long been called out for her Hindi, which has improved, but the criticism around her Malayalee accent doesn’t seem misplaced. Some fellow reviewers even speculate that her Malayalam lines may have been dubbed by someone else. And despite all the Mohiniyattam training, Kapoor still comes across as a novice.

For someone who lost her parents in an accident and is now running the family homestay, it’s hard to buy how Sundari still finds so much time to hang around with Param. Malhotra looks sharp in his silk kurtas, while Kapoor dazzles in Kanjivaram and georgette sarees styled by Neha Gurbuxani. You don’t need to be a fashion buff to appreciate the stunning traditional outfits. But with a weak script and uninspiring performances, the film ends up feeling more like an extended ad for Kanjivaram sarees and silk kurtas than a love story.

Renji Panicker impresses with his Hindi, and along with Gopika Manjusha, comes across as one of the most confident performers. We’re also introduced to Siddhartha Shankar. It’s rare to find both a Sidharth and a Siddhartha in the cast of a Bollywood film. Given the plotline, one might be tempted to see Shankar as the other male protagonist, but his character, Venu Nair, barely gets any screentime.

For all his talent, Manjot Singh still ends up trapped in the same old clichéd Punjabi roles. And given how often the Sikh community itself has been stereotyped in Hindi cinema, it’s baffling to see a Sikh actor play into the stereotyping of South Indians.

Music

Sachin-Jigar have delivered the occasional good song before, but rarely a full album worth remembering. The few tracks in Stree 2 [2024] showed their spark, and with Param Sundari they raise the bar. Pardesiya almost makes you forget Saiyaara. Sonu Nigam is, of course, the master, and young Krishnakali Saha complements him beautifully. Please, let’s not rush into comparisons with Kavita Krishnamurthy. Another bright spot is Sumonto Mukerjee, a fresh discovery who shines with Sundari Ke Pyaar Mein, and so too does Aditya Rikhari, who lends his voice to Sunn Mere Yaar Ve

Credit to Sachin-Jigar and  director Jalota for weaving some of these tunes smartly into the background score. And just when you fear the music leans too heavily north, the soundtrack is balanced with lyrical flavours from the South. As said earlier, the music is one of the few real positives in this film. The other is the striking production design by Sharanya Menon.

Final word

The hype around Param Sundari’s music is totally justified, but as a film, Param Sundari disappoints. In Chennai Express, Deepika Padukone had her cringeworthy line, “Kahan se kharidi aisi bakwaas dictionary?” Param Sundari’s apathy is best summed up in Param’s own words: “Dimaag ka coconut khali kar diya.”

Video review to follow.