No cliches, please: A poster from Bollywood romcom Param Sundari. In a country as plural as India, respect and authenticity are no longer optional, especially in popular media. — Instagram/@maddockfilms
MUMBAI’S film industry has long thrived on the promise of uniting a diverse nation through shared stories. From romantic comedies to action blockbusters, its formula has been to blend regional identities into a common cinematic language. Yet time and again, this ambition has faltered – not because Bollywood lacks the intent to bridge differences, but because of the tendency to flatten them into stereotypes.
The recent Bollywood romcom Param Sundari fits into a familiar template: the heroine from Kerala is reduced to a handful of clichés – flowers, elephants, coconut trees, and halting Malayalam – while the Delhi-born hero is positioned as the more relatable centre of the story.
For decades, such portrayals went unquestioned. Today, they invite instant critique from the very audiences they seek to represent. The backlash is not simply about accents or costumes. It speaks to a larger discomfort with cultural inauthenticity in a society that is increasingly self-aware.
India’s southern film industries are not only thriving locally but also reaching national audiences through streaming platforms. Viewers now expect characters to feel rooted, not caricatured. When they encounter one-dimensional versions of themselves on screen, the response is no longer indulgent laughter but public pushback. Indian audiences today are not passive consumers but vocal participants, shaping the conversation through social media and word of mouth. Their rejection of lazy clichés is forcing Bollywood to listen.
This shift also reflects Bollywood’s own crisis. Once the unquestioned centre of Indian cinema, it now competes with regional films that offer innovative storytelling while staying faithful to their cultural soil.
The runaway success of the Malayalam superhero film Lokah alongside the lukewarm reception of Param Sundari underscores the difference between imagination grounded in place and imagination relying on postcards. To be clear, no one is demanding that art abandon exaggeration or humour. Stereotypes can be playful, even affectionate, when used sparingly. But when they substitute for genuine characterisation, they weaken both the narrative and the industry’s credibility. Audiences do not resent creativity; they resent being reduced to clichés in the name of it.
At its best, Indian cinema has shown how cross-cultural encounters can be handled with nuance. Films that portray migration, interstate relationships, or linguistic divides with wit and sensitivity have found resonance far beyond their immediate contexts.
These stories succeed not because they avoid difference, but because they honour it. The debate around Param Sundari is, therefore, less about one film and more about the choices Bollywood faces.
Will it continue to lean on outdated formulas that caricature its own audiences?
Or will it recognise that in a country as plural as India, respect and authenticity are no longer optional – they are essential for relevance.
Romance on screen, after all, is about the discovery of another person’s world. For Indian cinema to remain compelling, it must rediscover that truth. — The Statesman/ANN
