English Vinglish – Film Review

Film Review by Suraj Nair

TechnoparkToday.com>>To start with English Vinglish, from here on EV, I would like to recall one Hindi movie ‘Mast’ directed by Ram Gopal Varma during late nineties. The sole reason behind ‘Mast’ was RGV’s adoration for Sridevi, though the film hardly did any justice to her persona but it definitely ring a bell in me why Sridevi is being worshiped by many others including RGV. Eventhough I admired her scintillating performances in Sadma, ChaalBaaz, Chaandni, Mr. India and many more. Though never in my mind I was able to create an impression of she being a GOD of beauty, elegance, sensuous and style. Today after watching EV, felt like I missed her during these one and half decade, sub-conciously I too admired her then for the charm she carried, the grace when she danced and the spontaneity when she emote. If Hema Malini’s comeback in Baghban is considered to be the most beautiful one then Sridevi’s comeback should be considered supremely powerful, as she delivers one of the best matured performance by any Hindi female lead in recent times.

EV is made on a very simple concept, a concept which I was able to relate to, also had the guilt when I came out of the theater. The concept which relates to the language we use for common talk to show the command superiority on one of the most influential language when trying to impress others. If someone tries to attempt this language and fails then we all laugh aloud without understanding the pain the other person went through while attempting to talk in that language. If that someone happens to be our mother, then EV is the perfect answer to all such scenarios which might have had happened in most of the homes where one of the parent is a home-maker.

The movie is made with loads of freshness, be it the visuals, the music, the actors or the locations. The scenes are well knitted, one has to appreciate Gauri Shinde(Director) for detailing the minute emotion like there is one scene when Sridevi’s character Sasi asks for a coffee at a restaurant in US, the restaurant lady gets aggressive with her talk, while Sasi under pressure succumbs to the situation of not able to communicate properly with the restaurant lady in English, panics while taking money out of her purse and then creates a mess in the restaurant. This is one of such moments wherein we are made to relate the conflicts that one goes through due to lack of respect received from others. This is where we realized why EV is made, to build respect among our loved ones, to support their weakness and to appreciate their strengths.

Three key factors makes this movie atleast a onetime watch, one being Amit Trivedi’s soulful BGM, secondly Gauri Shinde’s presentation on this light threaded concept and lastly Sridevi’s presence. This is a perfect comeback for Sridevi wherein all her skills were put to test and no doubt she delivered with such ease. On the flip side, the editing could have been more effective in the second half for the steam in the story plot felt fading out. Secondly, the presence of Amitabh Bachchan, though it was very refreshing to see him in a special appearance, but his performance looked over the top, which felt not required. Thirdly the climax gets predictable with Sridevi giving a long speech in English on relations, respect and love which I smelled coming during climax post intermission.

In all, this movie would be a perfect gift for your parents, a movie which really shows it’s not necessarily the verbal communication unites people rather respect for others would certainly bring people together. EV is just close to Excellent Vexcellent.

One question is still left unanswered, when Sasi asks her tuition teacher why India is not called ‘THE INDIA’ and why United States of America is called ‘THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA’ 🙂

Watch English Vinglish @ AathiraTheatre Overbridge, Thampanoor, Thiruvananthapuram 3:00, 6:00, 9:00

Suraj Nair, a short film maker and film critic, working in Infosys, is a regular contributor of film reviews for TechnoparkToday.