English Vinglish – An Ode to Womanhood
by Raven

Most entertaining films are criticized for not being classy and the so-called classy films struggle to entertain the masses. There is always a wall between these two genres in Hindi. English Vinglish is successful in bringing down this wall. English Vinglish is classy without compromising on entertainment values.

Plot

Shashi (Sridevi) is a caring wife and a mother of two kids. She is a great cook and also runs a small catering business from home. One thing that worries her is English. Her husband and kids look down on her due to her lack of English speaking ability. She also happens to go to America for attending her niece’s marriage. She gets into embarrassing situations due to the language barriers and she decides to learn English. Will she be able to succeed?

Performances

It is unbelievable to see Sridevi performing so effortlessly, although she was away from the camera for this long. Yes, she may look her age in some shots. But, her attitude and grace in which she carries herself in traditional sarees are truly riveting.

Mehdi Nebbou, who plays the French chef, is brilliant in his role with his subtle expressions. Adil Hussain, who plays Sridevi’s husband, is very good in his role. He is spectacular when he shows his insensitive attitude. Priya Anand is bubbly and quite charming in her role. The kids look sweet and the entire supporting cast has literally rocked. Amitabh appears for very brief period, yet he makes a mark. All the students at the English class, the teacher, the receptionist at the English coaching centre, the security guard at the railway station and every single person who appears in the film are impressive.

Technicalities

Cinematography by Laxman Utekar is brilliant. The camera angles blends well with the narration. For instance, when Sridevi comes out of the café after being humiliated, the shot is restless and shaky which conveys her state of mind. In the initial portions, the mid-long range shots show Sridevi as a beautiful Indian mother.

Amit Trivedi‘s music is another ace factor in this film. The background score definitely uplifts the movie. The mood swings are beautifully conveyed through music. Editing is crisp and the movie is just 2 hours and 15 minutes long.

Gauri Shinde - Director

• There is not a single scene in the film which will reveal that Gauri Shinde is a debutante  director.

• Gauri does not take much time to get into the plot. She establishes the premise and characters right away. In fact, within 5 minutes from the start of the movie, you will know that the movie is about Shashi vs English.

• She has touched upon sensitive subjects superficially and has done it intelligently without hurting any sentiments.

• The movie is filled with plenty of heart-warming sequences and powerful dialogues that command admiration.

• Gauri has made us to think how we tend to overlook the efforts of women, who make our lives better.

Bottomline

English Vinglish is an ode to womanhood. The movie should be cherished and celebrated by everyone.

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