Movie Review: English Vinglish

You have never ever met a woman like Shashi Godbole on the big screen. The Pune-based mother of two makes the most delicious laddoos and she has a happy clientele in the city. But at home, she doesn't get her due simply because she cannot speak English. Eventually, however, she rises above her deficiency and proves her point to the world, especially her own husband, who believes that "my wife is born to make laddoos". Of course, he has to eat humble pie.

That is the basic premise of the well-meaning English Vinglish, directed by first-timer Gauri Shinde. But despite a fine performance by Sridevi, back on the big screen after a 15-year break, and consistently high production values, the film never quite emerges out of the shallowness of its facile narrative concept.

By no stretch of the imagination is English Vinglish a complete washout. It has many nice moments – especially when the female protagonist interacts with her teacher and co-students in an English language class in New York, including a Handsome French cook. If the passable touches do not finally add up, it is simply because they remain within the realms of the predictable.

Worse, the film appears to accord undue legitimacy to a notion that deserves to be dismissed out of hand – that a woman must speak English in order to be truly empowered. What's in a language really if the woman in question knows what she is good at and has the wherewithal to pursue her passion? English Vinglish conveniently ignores the finer points of the question.

The insecure homemaker wings off to New York all by herself to attend the wedding of a niece. Once there, she realises that she has an opportunity to rid herself of the shortcoming that makes her a butt of ridicule from both her husband and her daughter. She joins an English-speaking class and, lo and behold, she is a transformed woman in less than three weeks. Rather pat and unconvincing.

The character that Sridevi plays in English Vinglish is clearly a sensitive woman; she is someone who is doing a fine job of bringing up two children, managing a home and running a small catering operation. Her school-going daughter is a bright spark. Her husband is a successful executive . Why would she need to fret so much over a trifle?

It is never explained: her inability to speak a language is employed merely as a contrived plot device to hang a relationship drama on. It isn't until the very end of the film, when Shashi Godbole turns the tables on her insensitive husband by delivering a wedding speech in nearly flawless English, that English Vinglish achieves any semblance of emotional traction.

Be that as it may, there is no denying the feel-good aura that the metamorphosis of Shashi Godbole exudes, even if it comes across as wholly unnecessary. English Vinglish is definitely worth a one-time watch, but don't expect the never-before explored theme to catch you by surprise. The treatment is far too tame to force you to sit up and go gaga.