Reviews & Ratings for
इंग्लिश विंग्लिश (2012)

Th introductory scene shows Shashi(Sridevi) engaged in household chores just like any busy mother who has her to send her children off to school and pack lunch for her husband. But Shashi has another identity. She makes scrumptious Laddoos and sells them. The West tags her an entrepreneur, but her husband and daughter finds her business embarrassing. While Shashi is kearned enough to teach proper English words to a servant. WHat embarrasses her family is her inability to speak it fluently and confidently. Shashi, herself is a woman who knows who can make it but lacks the spur to take an attempt.
The humiliation at home,airport and at the Cafeteria in Manhattan finally provides the fuel which makes her promptly join spoken English classes. The metamorphosis of Shashi from the shy housewife in a cocoon to the brilliant butterfly who delivers an inspiring speech at the wedding with elan. The journey of Shashi and the people involved adds a variety of colors to the narrative. The global village within the classroom, the ability to interact without the mechanism of a common language and the casual reference to homosexuality breaks many stereotypes- unforeseen in Indian cinema.But the message which rings loud and clear is the one regarding the status of housewives in Indian society. They are taken for granted and their herculean tasks of raising children,and managing the household single-handedly are overlooked just because they are not tech-savvy or fluent in colloquial English. That the flaw is generated because of refusing them the opportunity to thrive, is never paid heed to by the patriarchal sections. This concept is questioned and clearly shown what a woman can achieve when the doors are opened to her.
Sridevi as Shashi is brilliant. This is probably the best second-innings attempted by any Indian actress. The supporting cast is also adept in their roles.
The camera work is mainly perfectly exploited in capturing the cityscape of Manhattan. Music by Amit Trivedi captures the ethos of the film and retains the Indian flavor while evenly utilizing western instruments and English lyrics.

The movie depicts a lot about the status of women in India.
First of all, It shows that how mothers are treated by their kids. The kids think that just because their mother has not had formal education she is dumb. They are ashamed to take them out in Public just because they cannot speak in English .The movie also talks about the husband and wife relationship, where the wife does everything to keep her family happy but is still not given enough respect. There is a point in movie where Sridevi goes to America and meets her sister. They both talk about how the sister has progressed from Saraswati vidyalaya in the village to an entrepreneur and she gives all the credit to her late husband..who encouraged her, supported her and made her this strong independent woman, at that time we could see the pain in sridevi's eyes.
It also shows that how determined a woman can be. When sasi (Sridevi) starts going to English tutorials she learns a lot. She does all the assignments and works hard to excel in English. In this time a French person falls in love with her, But she chooses her Husband over this love..shows how true she id to her husband. In the end when she delivers a speech..her Kids and her Husband are awestruck. That is when they realise how rude they had been to her.

English Vinglish is a well-made film about a typical Indian Mom, Sashi (Sridevi), who is belittled by her daughter and husband and how she manages to master the language to gain the respect she deserves. The film brilliantly explains the importance of, as Shashi puts it, "helping one's self when he/she is at their lowest point". The narrative style of the debutant director Gauri Shinde is spot on and the movie is filled with thought provoking one-liners. The climax speech by Shashi at her niece's wedding is a heart warming and a beautiful conclusion to this wonderful tale.

The performance of Sridevi is mind-blowing and the background score & songs add a major plus to the movie. English Vinglish is one of the very few movies in contemporary Indian cinema which have the potential to impact the modern society and its shortcomings.
#mustWatch #hilarious #imaginative #inspiring #beautiful #sweet

This is a women oriented movie in which sreedevi's action was splendid. This movie is all about a housewife who gets humiliated by her family cos she doesn't know english. She travels alone to America to her sister house for a marrage when she thinks to learn English. She walks the place alone and joing in an institution. She finally gets through many classes and even practices by watching English movies at home. She manages everything along with her English classes without letting anyone know about her secret classes. Watch the movie to know how her family realises her importance and her love.

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 newfound 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.

A beautiful movie with the evergreen beauty Sridevi giving the best message of " YES I CAN..." . Its a perfect movie showing that if a person desires to do something... he could not be stopped at any stage of life... Movie showing that the desire has no limits of age. An adorable movie breaking the myth of bollywood that heroes lead the movies... !!

Sreedevi was amazing in the movie. At this age, she looks extremely beautiful - I can't think of any other woman as beautiful at her age. Also, she has done her part extremely well. Carefully subdued acting and an excellent screen presence/beauty.
The theme is a great one. It is universal, at least in an Indian context. The subject is so relevant and so common that it is a surprise that there are not very many movies that comes to mind on the subject. The subject being the insecurities of the wife/mother of the house.Rest of the people in the house needs to see and appreciate the value of the woman of the house.
Content of the movie comes in patches - here and there we have good content but there are holes too. Connect was there for major portion of the movie but there was quite a lot of time where I was just sitting in the theatre.
Music is good and after the initial drag, the movie does catch up well. The theme is very simple but it is very everyday and it can touch many hearts, hopefully making the little little worlds of the viewers better.