English Vinglish is Refreshingly Good!

by Bharath Vijayakumar

EV is about a regular housewife Shashi (Sridevi) for whom her family is the world. She is an excellent cook whose laddoos are famous in the neighbourhood. Her family too loves her. But her lack of knowledge in English becomes a source of embarrassment for her daughter. Both her husband and daughter hurt her inadvertently at times. Shashi happens to go to the States for a month to help in the preparations of her niece’s wedding.  In America she sort of rediscovers herself and grows in confidence through an English speaking course that she attends without the knowledge of her family. In essence the film strives to drive home the message how we take for granted the regular Indian housewife. But the success of EV is that at no point it gets preachy and it is actually a fun ride till the movie lasts.

Sridevi couldn’t have chosen a better film as her comeback vehicle. She is the soul of the film and carries it effortlessly on her shoulders. She is there in almost each and every frame and gracefully carries of a character that transforms from being vulnerable at the beginning to a self assured woman. The casting in EV is as perfect as it can get.  Shashi’s naughty kid, her niece, her English teacher and her classmates – the list goes on. You tend to love almost all the characters in the film.  There is something positive and likeable about each one of them. Ajith’s short cameo as Sridevi’s co passenger in the flight to New York is delightful. The star needs to be lauded for lending his support for such a meaningful film without taking any remuneration. This is a smart move from the makers of EV as this three minute cameo actually goes a long way in making us forget that we are watching a dubbed film.

Striking aspects

Debutant director Gauri Shinde impresses with her eye for detail and simple style of storytelling. Her touches are visible throughout the film. The climax where the underdog shows her mettle by speaking in English before a gathering is top notch. There was a possibility of this scene turning melodramatic by making the underdog speak in flawless English .Instead the scene is grounded in reality and Sridevi’s speech about the institution of marriage is simple and effective. The mutual attraction between Shashi and her French classmate is also brought out really well and draws the line at the appropriate point. The way these two communicate in their native language at important places in the film shows that communication between hearts does not need a mutual language. The director also makes references about homosexuality in one of the scenes and how we need to respect people for what they are. 

Bottomline

English Vinglish is a simple, realistic, feel good flick that will keep you smiling . Do watch it!