ENGLISH VINGLISH

Cast: Sridevi, Adil Hussain, Priya Anand

Director: Gauri Shinde

Genre: Comic/ Family Drama

Sridevi returns to the mainstream cinema after a long gap. She is being away from action for so long that she has forgotten to even speak.........English! But one thing that she hasn’t forgotten is acting and that’s what is on show in full glare in this week’s release English Vinglish.

Shashi Godbole(Sridevi) is a typical Indian housewife. She cleans the house, readies children for school, keeps husband in good humour and all this at the cost of neglecting her own self. The only possession she has is cooking, and that doesn’t seem to be enough for getting respect around her home. She is being ridiculed repeatedly for her inability to speak and understand English. Life gives her a chance to learn English when she visits her elder sister at New York. But she has only 4 weeks to turn her fortunes around. So can Shashi manage to get her respect back by learning English while keeping up with the household work.... You need to find out!

The movie brings about the sensibilities and pain of middle class housewife in an effective manner. It is not a mad comedy but there is subtle humour in the proceedings as Shashi tries to make peace with the language she isn’t accustomed to. The classroom proceedings and the interactions between ‘students’ of different cultures are amusing.

Sridevi is definitely BACK. She gets the nuances of the characters just right. She plays a role closer to her age (mother of two kids) and looks apart as vulnerable Shashi, torn between family responsibility and search for self respect. Her moments with kids are adorable and her attempt to speak English brings smile on your face. Special mention for new kid artist Shivansh, who plays Shashi’s son. He pitches in a lovable act. Amitabh Bachchan in a special appearance steals the show. Adil Hussain as an ignorant husband is impressive. Rest of the support cast is competent.

Gauri Shinde as director gets it right. She brings about the sensibility and emotions of a mother and wife in an Indian household. Music is not the high point of the movie and is strictly ok.

I rate ‘English Vinglish’, 3 out of 5 stars. It is not a breakthrough cinema but it is sincere, desi at heart and brings smile at your face.

Rating: 3/5