I must be among the last people in Mumbai to see “English Vinglish” a delightful Hindi movie which I could very well identify with! This was largely because my regular movie pal was traveling abroad and then caught up with the film festival in Mumbai which just got over last week. Since this movie is already into its fourth week, we could only get an afternoon show at Metro and for Rs. 380 a piece, the ticket was quite a rip off ( she paid Rs. 1000 for a week’s pass at the Movie festival!!!) but luckily it was worth every penny.

Sridevi as Shashi Godbole is a typical shy housewife who is taken for granted by her supercilious husband and actually laughed at by her twit of her daughter. But this is something all Indian mothers are used to – being the butt of their daughter’s jokes. I could very well understand how Shashi’s daughter was embarrassed by her uncool mother at the PTA – and the fun her family made of her lack of confidence in speaking English.

Shashi is sent off to the US to help with her sister’s daughter’s wedding and like most Indian visitors lands up being a glorified maid and cook. But Shashi doesn’t cook all day long, she does manage to get time to get around and one day finds herself making a fool of herself at a coffee shop. Running out in sheer embarrassment, she finds the courage to join up a four week English speaking class. Thus begins the transformation of a conservative, diffident housewife into a confident lady with a sense of self. With all the students bringing their own angst of living in an alien land Shashi displays an empathy that endears her to her fellow students and a charming French cook in particular. This brief interlude away from her family makes Shashi discover her own self worth and self esteem.

When her family comes to New York for the wedding, her husband senses a change in his wife but can’t quite put a finger to it. Shashi meanwhile automatically reverts to being a doormat and is ready to abandon the last few classes . Her young niece however encourages her to take the final exam but a  plate of ladoos brought to the ground by her pesky son puts paid to her plans of sneaking out for an hour! Stoically Shashi re-does all the ladoos rather than taking the easy way out by purchasing them from the Indian store . But to Shashi’s surprise, the entire class is invited to the wedding and when Shashi is asked to make a speech she delivers a touching speech  in English much to the shock of her entire family !

Sridevi was a treat to watch and Amitabh Bacchan as a cameo was a special bonus.  Jo and I truly hated her husband  (Satish Godbole played by Adil Hussain) who came across as a real creep.

I loved this Indian chick flick which for a change had  a Maharashtrian style wedding – a departure from the done to death Punjabi and Marwari weddings in Indian Cinema. Snappy diaolgues, sharp editing and a delightful sound track, this movie is definitely worth seeing. Thank you Gauri Shinde for proving that Indian cinema can be funny without being crude and can be sensitive without being dramatic .