English Vinglish (2012)

Director: Gauri Shinde
Story: Gauri Shinde
Cast: Sridevi, Mehdi Nebbou, Priya Anand
Music: Amit Trivedi
Time: 133 minutes
Bottom-line: Watch for Sridevi’s exceptional performance 

  This is, in my opinion, the best film made by a female director. After fifteen years of staying away from cinema, Sridevi returns in a stunning manner, with her performance in English Vinglish. In this 2012 film, Gauri Shinde shows the viewers how the knowledge of a language can affect one’s life. The story, in one line, is: what happens to a lady who goes to the US without knowing English?

Sridevi as Sashi, and Priya Anand as Radha (right)

Sashi (Sridevi) is an ordinary middle-class woman, who lives with her husband, mother, and two children. She is very talented in making laddoos (a sweet), and even has her own successful catering business. An excellent cook, a good mother, Sashi seems to be the ideal housewife… the only problem? She is very poor in English. Her daughter gets angry with Sashi after an embarrassing incident at school. Soon, the family gets a call from New York, where Sashi’s sister’s daughter is getting married. She invites all of them to come to New York, and she also asks Sashi to come a month earlier, to help with preparations. Sashi somehow manages in US with her broken English, but after causing mishap in a café, she becomes deeply upset. Her sister’s second daughter (Priya Anand) casually mocks at a sign about a class which offers to teach spoken English within four weeks. Sashi remembers the phone number of the tutorial. Whether or not she learns English before her husband and the others arrive, and whether or not she is able to prove herself in front of others form the rest of the film.

Adil Hussain as Satish 

I have heard of retired sportspersons being called back into the squad, but this is the first time I am hearing of an actress coming back into acting, that too after a decade and a half. Yet, shocked as I was, I believe that Sridevi should still continue acting. She hasn’t lost any skills in acting. Remarkable indeed, from Sridevi in English Vinglish! At first, she plays a mother who is happy as long as her children and husband are happy. Then she realizes that she has a defect – that she cannot speak proper English – and she becomes affected by this. Then she plays a woman going into a foreign land, which to her is like leaving the Earth. After that she plays a character that is determined to stand up for herself and prove herself to others.

Sridevi, with Mehdi Nebbou, who plays Laurent

In these various ‘avatars’ of the same character, Sridevi excels in everything. Playing a mother, a role like that of a teenager going to hostel for the first time (assuming he doesn’t like hostels)… it seems she can do everything! Brilliant acting, supported by powerful emotions, makes this one of the few successful comebacks. I am pretty sure that in real life she can speak proper English, but in the film, her broken English is what makes her acting great. When you see the film, you feel sort of sorry for Sashi, especially after the embarrassing incident she causes at the café in New York.

The others have also acted well in the supporting roles. But more than the actors, the characters is what I liked. Shinde has chosen an ordinary woman: not very rich, nor poor, caste being irrelevant. But through her, she brings out something which takes place quite commonly in every society. This doesn’t happen in my house, but I feel that in many houses, if you do not know English, your self esteem is immediately brought down by others. Sashi’s talents of making laddoos and her cooking skills are overshadowed by the fact that she cannot speak English. Her daughter, Sapna, is also a typical teenager, who doesn’t want her parent around her friends. She feels so irritated and angry at her mother after what happens in Sapna’s school. The different characters from all over the world at Sashi’s English class also add to the humour. A Frenchman, Laurent (Nebbou) plays an important role in the film.

The English tutorial that Sashi attends.  

(This paragraph may contain spoilers) Sridevi’s speech towards the ending is such that you, as a viewer, feel like applauding from your chair. It is a speech with a moral, and the way she says it is what makes it great. After a long struggle, even after sacrificing the class for her family, she manages to speak so well; the boldness with which she says, “May I?” when her husband says, “I’m afraid my wife’s English is not so good,” is very inspiring indeed. The ending of the film is another memorable scene. When they go back to India, the air hostess asks them whether they need any newspaper. Sashi asks, “The New York… sorry, do you have any Hindi newspaper?” This shows that no matter what she accomplished in the States, she will always be an Indian at heart.

With a story that always keeps you engaged, except for few scenes, English Vinglish is a must watch for people of all ages. Splendid acting by Sridevi, a couple of fast songs (one with lyrics both in Hindi and English), well-developed characters and an inspiring story make this one of the best films of Sridevi’s career and of the best of the decade.

My Rating: 4.5/5