Param Sundari review: dazzling cinematography tangled in a weak story

In the Hindi film industry the question had often been raised whether star kids would make their mark through hard work or survive only on their big names. Janhvi Kapoor appeared to be giving an interesting answer. Her acting seemed to improve film after film. Moving beyond early hesitation and the burden of constant comparison, she was now trying to establish herself as an independent artist. When hard work was visible in a “nepo kid”, audiences appreciated it too.

Title and locations: felt like an advertisement

The film was titled “Param Sundari”, but had it been named “Kerala Express”, it might have seemed more apt. The whole film looked like one big advertisement for Kerala tourism. From houseboats to beaches and lush forests, every frame felt like “Kerala Diaries”.

Direction and writing: average

Tushar Jalota’s direction and writing did not live up to expectations. Far from being fresh, the presentation of events was highly predictable and tiresome. The biggest flaw was the excessive use of slow motion. The film ran 2 hours 10 minutes, though it could easily have been done in 1 hour 40 minutes. But the slow motion was so heavy that even a storyteller like Neelesh Misra might have given the director five stars after watching it.

The story of Param and Sundari

The hero, Param, was a “spoiled rich kid” whose startups had all failed. His last hope was a dating/matrimonial app called “Find Your Soulmate”, which was claimed to be 100 per cent effective in finding a life partner. Through this app Param met “Thekkepattu Sundari Damodaram Pillai”, and their story set off on a journey from Delhi to Kerala.

Sidharth Malhotra’s acting and looks

The film’s weakest aspect was Sidharth Malhotra’s acting. In trying to be romantic and charming like Shah Rukh Khan, he lost his own originality. There were so many overacting scenes that they recalled Uday Chopra’s films. On top of that, his angles in pink lipstick and stylish slow motion were shown so often that comparison with the iconic frames of Prashanth Neel’s “Rocky Bhai” (Yash) became inevitable. The only difference was that every Yash shot thrilled the audience, whereas Sidharth’s slow motion came across as “cringe”.

Cringe and awkward scenes

Several scenes in the film were so odd that viewers could not tell whether to laugh or hold their heads. For example, in a small town in Kerala, early in the morning, Sidharth Malhotra was out jogging in a bright pink vest, blue boxers and pink 3D glasses. A girl collided with him and started teasing him as if playing a piano. Later the same girl tried to forcibly kiss him in a wardrobe. The scene was presented as humour, but was in reality “gender-reversed harassment”. The irony was that the audience laughed at it, while “tagdhum tagdhum ta na ta na” played in the background.

The shine of the cinematography

The film’s biggest plus point was its cinematography. DOP Santhana Krishnan Ravichandran had done wonders with the camera. Every frame was vivid and bright, with shots so colourful that even traffic lights would have blushed. The Kerala backwaters, temples, beaches, festivals and greenery were all shot so beautifully that viewers were mesmerised. That was why, though the film was weak on story, it was worth watching.

Supporting cast and other aspects

Apart from Janhvi Kapoor, Sanjay Kapoor and Navjot Gulati also acted well. Janhvi handled many scenes with her innocence and confidence. The structure of the story resembled films such as Chennai Express and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. Both the climax and the midpoint were predictable. The punchlines and dialogues were passable and brought laughter in places, but their echo was not remembered for long.

Final analysis

“Param Sundari” was a film in which the cinematographer had given his all, but the writer and director could not do justice to the story and characters. Janhvi Kapoor’s hard work and growth were felt, but Sidharth Malhotra’s overacting and artificiality weighed the film down.

The film was beautiful, colourful and vibrant, but hollow in terms of story and emotion. Had a little more effort gone into Sidharth Malhotra’s acting and the writing, the film would not have remained merely an advertisement for Kerala tourism, but could have become a memorable love story.