Movie Review – English Vinglish (Hindi) – Succulent. Sensitive. Slice-of-Life!!

She is replete with candor, charisma, and comeliness. She is like a string of pearls where the string is tight when she’s cooking her favorite ghee-laced ladoos and attending daily chores at home, and breaks loose when asked to speak up and be part of social gatherings. She has got a husband, a cherubic son and she pleases everyone, but her incognizance of English intimidates her hyperbolic teenage daughter. She is a safe bet for her husband who can easily demand whatever he wants from her. You see her to be Sridevi but you call her Shashi Godbole - a traditional Maharashtrian woman.

The premise of English Vinglish set by writer-director Gauri Shinde is straightforward: A woman coming from a vernacular-medium education struggling to sail through Anglicized waters. How she changes the situation in which she’s struck, how she starts loving her own self, and how she gets the love of her family forms the rest of the story. It sounds like an engaging theme for a film stuffed with thrilling prospects – an underdog’s struggle against all odds to emerge victorious and gain her identity back.  Shinde paints a cheerful mood from the start with linear brush strokes. Though predictable, the picture shines with appropriate usage of colors.  

Shinde achieves equipoise and gives space for remission and reconciliation. The feminist thread of the movie’s fabric is befitting, and embellishes the film’s apparently crowd-appeasing characteristic. A song, a wedding, a classroom and a simple yet charismatic Sridevi makes for a perfect film that most of us can identify with. The most endearing moments are the ones that happen in the classroom where you see a diaspora of people. Although tongue-in-cheek, my only complaint with David sir – Indefinite article an is placed before a vowel sound and not a vowel.

The movie seems to be written for Sridevi, who is its life-line and breathes life into her character. She never throws any trace of banality even when she is present in some stereotypical situations. She handles wittiness and sadness with poise, and this role allows her to span a wide array of emotions. She is sweet and constrained in spite of her shrill and shaky voice – perfectly set to with hold the fragility in her character. A natural uneasiness with English shown by her is so convincing and utterly charming. Her ability to emote in a controlled manner adds many feathers to her acting cap and orients the film away from melodrama.

Some of the supporting cast is forgettable, especially Adil Hussain with a caricatured role as Sashi’s husband. Priya Anand is given a bubbly shade as Sridevi’s niece. Amitabh Bachchan’s cameo with some wisecracks is magnetic as usual. Apart from the two ladies – Sridevi and Shinde – the other winner is Amit Trivedi with his lilting tunes. He’s impressed us with stupendous compositions in Ishaqzaade and here in the background score he nurtures a hallmark of Ilayaraja. May be producer R Balki (husband of Gauri Shinde) is involved in bringing out classy stuff out of Trivedi. Balki’s involvement with Maestro for his two films Cheeni Kum and Paa speaks out in this film.  

What puts the movie down is a lack of distinct visual schematic to underscore the story. Some of the imagery is tawdry, one such is an introduction to Manhattan – Aadmi Topi and forgot whatever Priya said at the end – that is shown with a haywire footage complemented with a peppy track with multiple usage of the word Manhattan. And the cinematic technique goes for a toss because the film is painfully deprived of imagination. But these understatements are superseded by uncompromised production values and tasteful costumes.

Bottom-line: English Vinglish is like a whiff of fresh air. The movie with quintessence of a woman’s journey is heart-warming and is watchable for its lead actor’s endurance through turbulent times. You will definitely empathize with her character all through the film. She never puts her performance on a downward spiral, not even when the film travels on a shaky terrain. Gauri Shinde shines as a writer by penning an incisive script and she outshines as a director by creating an atmosphere in which everyone can relate to the subtle nuances of her characters. After watching the film you will wear a big smile on your face. It’s English-WINglish!!

My Rating: Expectation – 5/10; Reality – 7/10