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!
