From Kerala with Love

BUTTER CHICKEN CALVES and Mohiniyattam moves. This is a film defined by its visual pleasures, not in the least of it are the two winsome lead stars. Sidharth Malhotra is Param and Janhvi Kapoor is Sundari. He spends his father’s money on start-up ideas and she takes care of her late mother’s homestay with her sister. Everyone is cari- catured, from Punjabis who eat only parathas with white but- ter to Malayalis who universally worship Mohanlal (the latter may be true). But all around there is so much green and blue, with the director laying every God’s Own Country treasure on display—from Kathakali to Kalaripayattu, from its white and gold saris to its coco- nuts—that one is pleasantly engaged throughout the movie. Malhotra and Kapoor are only eye candy so their shal- low characters are played with cardboard depth. References to Shah Rukh Khan abound. Sundari’s younger smart-mouthed sister, (Inayat Verma) offers wisdom gleaned from Instagram reels. There is the best friend (Manjot Singh) who articulates what Malhotra can’t. Shallow and superficial, yes. Charming? Oh yes. A bonus is the music, which remains with you well after the film ends.