The Great Gorgeous Beautiful and Marvellous actress of India cinema - SRIDEVI is coming back with a pleasant movie 'English Vinglish'.
It's a tough deal, making a comeback as a Bollywood mainstream heroine
when you are close to 50. But then, Sridevi is no ordinary star. In her
heydays of the eighties she ruled B-Town without much of a contest,
often driving films to blockbuster status without bothering who the hero
was.
English Vinglish wholly draws its USP from Sridevi's return
15 years after Judaai, the last role you would care to remember her
for. Debutant writer-filmmaker Gauri Shinde's film is a bittersweet
dollop, in itself a story that would have made for just another
middle-of-the-road flick. If English Vinglish has become a talking point
of sorts, it's because the film truly marks the rebirth of a star.
The
script casts Sridevi as Shashi Godbole, middle-class Marathi homemaker.
For a star whose career was over the years mostly defined by maxed-out
glamour and not much else, that in itself is a departure. But then,
Sridevi obviously needed to do something far removed from the glittering
Hawa hawai image of yore.
She is fantastic in her new found
unassuming avatar, balancing the ordinary traits of Shashi with sparks
of the zestful diva we have always known her as. Shashi is imagined as
an unusual mix - traditional housewife quite conscious of the 'modern'
world she can't match, and yet harbouring steely resolve within.
Her
problem is she doesn't know English. In a world where that easily
translates to being a loser, pronouncing jazz as jhaaj and thinking
'judgemental' refers to a judge gone mental aren't exactly things that
win you friends. So, her executive hubby (Adil Hussain) feels she is
just good enough to make laddoos at home and her daughter won't take her
seriously. Shashi decides to join a spoken English class without
telling anyone.
Much of the script is devoted to Shashi's
mastering English even as she balances her chores. In the process, she
will make a few self-discoveries too, to become a more confident person.
It
is a simple story that banks wholly on one character. Sridevi revels
once again in trademark screen presence. Her act would be the reason
you'd pay to watch this film. Twice.
The film itself is not
without its flaws, though. Shinde is impressive with the feel-good
portions but she does go over the top with melodrama in a bid to give
the film its emotional core.
The prop cast is essentially fitted
in to push Shashi's story forward. Adil Hussain (recall the evil Colonel
in Agent Vinod) does a restrained job as Shashi's husband.
French-Algerian actor Mehdi Nebbou plays out his subtitle-enabled
Frenchman's role well.
Not to forget Amitabh Bachchan, in a
pivotal one-shot cameo for a scene featuring him with Sridevi. You wish
the duo got to share some more runtime together.
