Let Me Explain: Coconut, curd, jasmine, and what Bollywood thinks of the South

Pooja : Aiyo Rama… Welcome to Let Me Yexplain… Come, come.

Megha: Cut Cut. What ‘thenga’ is this Pooja? (Pooja, what atrocity is this?)

Pooja: I’m just auditioning for every south Indian role in Bollywood.

Pooja : Because this is Bollywood’s checklist for south Indians: Loud voice, funny accent, lungi, jasmine, and curd…

Congratulations, you are a stereotype. 

Bollywood has a long tradition of doing the south dirty - turning entire distinct cultures into caricatures, punchlines, and accents.

And the latest addition to this parallel south Indian universe? Janhvi Kapoor in Param Sundari.  A half-Malayali girl, introducing herself as ‘Thekkapetta’ Sundari Damodaran Pillai.

In Malayalam, “thekkapetta” literally translates to “ironed out.” And colloquially means, “tragically dumped.”

So basically, Sundari’s name translates to “Dumped Beauty.”

A multimillion-rupee production house. And nobody bothered to Google it.

Unless, the makers named her “Thekkeppaattil”, a popular family name, and she tragically mispronounced it.

Now this isn’t representation. It’s an ignorant parody. 

And this isn’t new at all, especially for Bollywood. 

Let me explain.