Circumstances make her determined to overcome this insecurity. The film is a light -hearted yet touching and transformational journey of Shashi. English Vinglish is the story of a woman who does not know English and is made to feel insecure by her family and society at large. So even if some of the comments on US immigration are over the top, it is honestly felt. In India, these 3 factors play a huge role in how society judges an individual.
The film is true to itself, in that you can recognise a voice-socially liberal, politically nationalist-that comes through consistently. What is admirable in English Vinglish is the stoic refusal to compromise realistic treatment with melodrama or cliché. At her English class, she discovers, or is discovered by, a cultured Frenchman (Mehdi Nebbou) who appreciates her for what she is, and though she will not fall in love, she is transformed. Why in secret? We never really know, but it is an opportunity to let her into the exhilaration of being independent and alone, probably for the first time in her life. Shashi (Sridevi), elegant in her beautiful sari, looks like an immigrant just off the plane to a rude New Yorker, and the irascible denizens of this metropolis can make mincemeat of such targets.Īlready upset in Pune by the patronising comments of her husband and daughter, Shashi secretly takes a crash course in the language. The film was critically acclaimed and won several awards including Filmfare. It is an embarrassing scene and a sharp observation. English Vinglish is a 2012 Hindi drama film starring Sridevi and Adil Hussain. Directed by Sujoy Ghosh, performances by Vidya Balan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Indraneil Sengupta, BoundScript Motion Pictures, India, 2012. The African American woman at the counter terrorises her. Directed by Gauri Shinde, performances by Sridevi, Adil Hussain and Mehdi Nebbou, Hope Productions, India, 2012. Directed and written by Gauri Shinde, the film depicts the transformation of Shashi, a meek, put-upon Indian housewife who speaks only Hindi, into a confident. She speaks very little English and is hit by ‘culture shock’ in Manhattan when she tries to order at a ‘Deli’. Shashi Godbole, a housewife from Pune, travels to New York for the wedding of her niece. The ideas in the film, though perceptive, are safe and upper middle-class. Shinde’s sensibility is clearly liberal.īut it is not radical.
It is multi-cultural, respectful to women who are homemakers, accepting of differences in sexual orientation, and doesn’t turn kids into sweetie pies or monsters. The film is in Hindi, English and other Indo-European languages. Hovering on the thin blue line between niche and mass appeal, English Vinglish opens a few doors for moviemakers who would want to tread the same path. It’s great to have Sridevi back on screen after such a long gap