Innocent and charming
English Vinglish, touches your heart from the very first frame.
English Vinglish(EV) deals with
simple hidden dilemmas faced by an Indian housewife, stressing mainly on disability
of fluent English speech. It highlights the unintentional ill treatment given
to people in India unable to speak fluent English . Shashi Godbole, played by
Sridevi is a housewife facing severe internal inferiority due to her disability
of speaking English. And the inferiority is cultivated by none other than her
own family. She happens to travel to the States for a wedding and lands up into
a quick English learning class.
Director and writer Gauri Shinde
has a well grip on her script and her characters are properly etched. It is
difficult to believe that EV is her debut as the confidence in the
direction is so apparent. She captures the simplest conversational difficulties
a non-english speaker would encounter while travelling alone abroad. The situations
are so realistic that one would enquire whether the director had herself gone
through the same.
The script has its shares of clichés;
for instance, the characterizations of Shashi’s classmates are typical and formulaic,
although they never bother. The screenplay is simple and linear, just as it
should have been. The background score perfectly blends with the situations. Special
mention to the fantastic music by Amit Trivedi; the music is melodious and
flows with the emotions in film. The camera in the first half is shaky giving
the film an absolutely unnecessary arty feel.
Sridevi is perfectly cast as the vulnerable
housewife. The subtle changes in her facial expressions and body language when
her characters changes phases are to watch out for. Her speech in the finale
sequence proves that no one but Sridevi could have played this part. Amongst
the supporting cast, Adil Hussain as a dominant Indian husband is well cast and
so is the the charming French cook played by Mehdi Nibbou.
EV has a simple but a valid message to give. The simplicity of the story telling
stuns you when it makes the viewer suddenly identify to one of the characters’
actions/dialogues. This is one film which relates to possibly every Indian
family living in India or abroad. EV will praise you for being nice and hit you
for being not so nice!
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