English Vinglish

Sridevi, remember her? With her squeaky voice, she charmed into the hearts of a few die hard movie fans, with her coffee brown eyes, she tormented them into sleepless nights, with her giggle, she warmed the hearts of a few, and with her beauty, she mesmerized a few, causing a lazy halo that cast a virtual curtain of beauty to see life. Yes, that lady, Sridevi, portrayed on the screen, a character that is so common that it relates to almost every woman in a relationship in one phase or the other, of her life. And mine was no exception.

I have not been much of a fan of her, not in her prime and not now, but I have watched her movies and enjoyed the vision of her with my favorite heroes. This movie, did not have the star cast that once would have accompanied her. She is the protagonist of the movie, giving a compelling performance to an appealing script and touching my heart. She plays the role of Shashi, a homemaker, who also sells sweets for occasions.

The simple saree clad bahu has a typical family – in-law, husband, two adorable kids – son and a daughter. She is the object of her husband’s critics at her challenged English, who does not understand her passions and who does not respect her enough to support her through the day-to-day nuances. Her daughter is embarrassed about introducing her to her school friends and teachers because of her lack of English. Her son, however, is an adorable darling, who loves her for being her. Shashi’s sister invites her family to New York for her daughter’s wedding. In the due course of the drama, it is decided that Shashi travels alone and her family will arrive later.

Her initial solo exploration of New York gives a rude awakening, when she could not get herself a cup of coffee. When she tries to talk to her family to get some solace, she is painfully cut off from discussing her issues. She silently vows to learn conversational English and enrolls herself in an English class that promises to teach English in four weeks. She soon becomes a promising student, driven by her necessity to earn the respect that she rightfully deserves from her family.

When her family unites with her in New York, earlier than expected as a surprise, it dampens her pursuit of completing the course. Her niece, Radha, who knows about these classes assists her in her quest to learn English by allowing her to listen to the lectures on the phone. And finally, to add more drama, the course final, that certifies her being eligible to talk in English is on the day of the wedding. She will have to communicate in English for five minutes to pass the test. Since she cannot make it to the course final, her niece invites her professor and fellow students to attend the wedding. And she asks her to toast the bride and the groom. At this point, Shashi’s husband stops her from talking, apologizing that her English is not so good! She takes that as a further challenge to speak up and gives a decent toast to the bride and groom about living together and her two cents on how to surpass the differences that would crop up. Her spirited toast is applauded by the guests and her professor gives her the course-pass certificate and her husband and daughter are shamed at their insensitivity, rendering a happy ending all over!

Sometimes, we are insensitive in our relationships. Be it because we are protective of what is ours or because we do not understand what is important to the other person in the relation. We are blinded by our set of thoughts that the glaringly obvious passion of the person is a blind spot that we rarely check. As we each drive forward in our lives, failing to check the blind spots causes the accidents that are sometimes fatal. And every accident leaves a scar, emotional or physical, major or minor. Being aware of the blind spots and checking them to ensure a smooth drive is very important and this film highlights that.

I liked it.