Wannabe entrepreneur Param (Siddharth Malhotra) is persuaded by an inventor to invest in a dating app. A 100% match is found for the Delhi resident Param – in a town near Alappuzha in Kerala.

The woman, Sundari (Janhvi Kapoor), runs a homestay. Param turns up with his friend Juggy (Manjot Singh). Sundari is initially unwelcoming, her young sister Ammu (Inayat Verma) less so. Sundari’s uncle Bhargavan (Bhargavan Renji Panicker) is hostile towards Param. Love eventually blooms and then wilts when another suitor, Venu (Siddhartha Shankar) turns up.

Tushar Jalota’s Hindi-language Param Sundari is only the latest iteration of the “North is North and South is South and never the twain shall meet’’ romance. Param Sundari doesn’t want to be mistaken for one of those ignorant Bollywood movies that confuses Mohanlal with Rajinikanth, Malayalam with Tamil, mundu wearing for lungi dancing.

So what if Param and Juggy react to “Kerala?!”as though it’s at the far end of the galaxy? Although the first scene is of Param being chased by a group of sickle-wielding, wild-looking Malayalis, Param Sundari is culturally sensitive, writers Jalota, Gaurav Mishra and Aarsh Vora will have you know.

Sundari speaks and even swears – in Malayalam! The movie rolls out every item of interest from the Visit Kerala tourist brochure to make sure that viewers get the point.

Coconut trees, mundus, the backwaters, an elephant – and even an alcoholic Malayali – appear in the first 30 minutes. Kalaripayattu has signed the attendance register by the 35th minute, with Ayurveda next in line. Mohiniyattam and kathakali are not too far away. Just to be absolutely sure, there is also a Malayali nurse.

Param Sundari is ultimately too inane to be offensive. The gussied-up culture clash drama is initially a distraction from how trite, predictable and affected the movie is. At least there is something else to occupy the mind rather than Param’s wooing of Sundari and her waffling.

A dead-eyed, ever-smiling Sidharth Malhotra and an overly sultry, heavily made-up Janhvi Kapoor go through the motions to Sachin-Jigar’s soulful tunes. Indeed, the movie seems to have come into existence only because these songs were lying around and somebody had the bright idea of creating a story around them.

Kerala survives the invasion of the northerners – yet again. The 136-minute movie takajum-takajums its way to the exit. When snake boat racing turns up, it’s indubitably evident that the film’s creators have done their homework.

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