English Vinglish - Time well spent

English Vinglish - here’s a movie you should not miss. It’s not idealistic or preachy even though  the synopsis of the movie might suggest so. You really feel for Shashi, the protagonist. You cry when she cries, you cringe at her embarrassment, you feel proud of her, you dance with her…you feel everything she feels and, that for me, is the definition of a well-made film.

Subtlety is used for the most defining scenes, which works very well. Nothing over-the-top and dramatic. Music aides the scenes rather than being a hindrance to the pace of the movie. The supporting cast is perfect. The movie is as close to reality as it can get.

Few scenes where I felt that the dialogues have been inserted only for the general good-feeling and whistles in the cinema halls were the ones in the consulate where Shashi goes for her visa interview and the one where Amitabh’s character talks with the I-94 stamping guy. Like I said…feel-good scenes :-).

One might also wonder as to how the people in the English class get attached to each other in a matter of just a few weeks. But again, maybe the common dilemma of being left-out in a foreign land bonds them intimately.

Day-to-day happenings are shown with such honesty

• Shashi’s mother-in-law’s scenes…excellently etched out. You’ll want to hug her.
• The scene where the husband talks to Manu, Shashi’s sister, inviting them over to USA for her daughter’s wedding. You can see Shashi constantly trying to get the phone from her husband to talk to her sister but how he never hands her the phone and the silent exchange shown is outstanding.
• Shashi goes to bed in her saree. She does not change her routine or her style even when she lands in the USA. Even such small quirks of her personality are displayed and the character is not compromised till the end.

Many incidents portray Shashi’s  personality

• The café-coffee-day revelation and how she takes it in her stride without berating her teenaged daughter
• The motherly love for her younger child leaves you with a warm and cuddly feeling :-)
• How she makes a business out of her passion
• Her acceptance and thoughts about the homosexuality of the class teacher
• How she is brave enough to venture on her own in a foreign land
• Her ability to decide her priorities on whether or not she should attend her exam
• How she hits the nail on the head when she delivers her final speech….each of these brilliantly executed.

The portrayal of sensitive issues is outstanding, especially considering that this is mainstream Hindi cinema

• “She was born to make laddoos”, wow! Never has such a statement shown to be degrading to a woman in Hindi cinema :-).
• Handling the attraction between the French guy and Shashi is brilliant. No guilt-trips. Just acceptance.

Finally, we come of age. 

You can’t end any piece of writing on this movie without mentioning Sridevi, the actress. She’s brilliant – the master of subtle nuances of body language. She represents so much with just that. Agreed her Hindi sounds funny …but she’s always spoken Hindi the same way for the past 3 decades, isn’t it? And that she’s beautiful is an understatement! You’ll root for her. You’ll root for every woman who has been-here-done-this.

One of the cleverest and entertaining movies of recent times. Don’t miss this one for sure!