Mini-Review: English -Vinglish: Vintage Sridevi returns

Diamonds are forever…

No, I am not referring to the classic James Bond flick, but paying tribute to our own versatile actress Sridevi.
The lady who went into hibernation after marriage and children decades ago, returns to show the same sparkle and magical class in a role that was made for her in the latest Hindi/ Tamil offering: ` English Vinglish’ directed by  Gauri Shinde who has at once established herself as a quality director of reckoning  in this `feel good’ film about an ordinary middle class housewife, often belittled and snickered at for her lack of English skills in this modern “ anglicized’ world by her self-centred family members who take digs at her frequently, uncaringly.

 She hides her tears and swallows her hurt and it is here that Sridevi is so real as the middle class house-wife Shashi, who is a ‘laddoo- maker’ by choice, that everyone can empathise with her.
Even her proficiency and popularity as a good sweet maker is somehow held against her and derisively mocked at. She then gets a chance to go abroad to be with her sister in New York alone and she is naturally petrified at the thought of making it all by herself in an alien English land.
But the lady is courageous, determined to learn English in a coaching class in New York  to get back her self-pride and some ‘show the world ‘ that she is not just ‘born to make only laddoos’.

The movie has many endearing moments like a cameo by Amitabh who provide solace and comfort to her on the flight to a soft spoken, French student who inadvertently falls for her simplicity and grace, a Pakistani called funnily as Salman Khan and a home sick madarsi..

The movie is all about her fight not only with her inner demons of fear and insecurity but also the time which is running out as the wedding dates at her sister’s house, get near and she is pushed to make a complicated choice.

This is a real heart touching movie and must be seen to appreciate.
The characters and performances are so real that you can reach across and touch them.
And Sridevi stands tall. Freckles and all.

Now everyone will know ` what and who’ we have been missing on the Indian silver screen all these years

Terror on silver screen

I’ve just been to the much awaited Tamil movie with family- Unnaipol Oruvan.
While this Kamal Hasan’s version of the Hindi original A Wednesday, stays faithful to it barring a few scenes, there are some differences as well…

Unnaipol Oruvan is taut and engaging and boasts of sterling performances by Kamal and Mohanlal, though I would think Naseeruddin Shah was more intense and plausible as the ‘common man’, than the underplaying Celebrity actor that Kamal is.
Yes, it is hard to believe Kamal Hasan who has been lighting up the silver screen for 5 decades now, as ‘just one of us’ , though he wears a non descript shirt and pants without makeup.( That’s quite a break from his routine, I mean the ‘make-up’ part!!).

As for the ‘stupid common man’ as he claims himself to be is concerned, you or me wouldn’t be a ‘Communications expert’ who can scramble Police networks, make our cell-phone locations untraceable and can match wits with a computer hacker…
Hell, I could shiver with fright, just imagining talking to the Police commissioner of my City!

Nor would I or you know how to make bombs merely by ‘googling’ nor park a bomb laden jeep right by the runway of an airstrip!
We would find this all quite uncommon to do, especially with a bag laden with tomatoes and drumsticks in the other hand.

So, he is then a very bright , net savvy common man, but that is still fine.. So was Naseeruddin Shah in the original, so that’s not a big change in the remake.

But I could never figure out why he had to plant bulky black bags slyly in trains and malls all over the City and we are simply told at the end that ‘they were all empty and none had bombs’ …Kind of self-defeating exercise , especially when no one finds them in the end either. And the Director keeps you confused by repeatedly showing the Train bogie with the cop’s wife and child as if there was some big peril right above their heads…Talk of Red herrings!

But it is really the stout Mohanlal here who really betters the bald-headed Anupam Kher of the Hindi one.. This man has wonderful screen presence and is a pleasure to watch in the expressions department…
Ganesh Venaktraman who plays toughie cop Arif is damned good find too.

Shruti Hasan in maiden outing as a music director goes ‘bang bang’ rock music throughout, apart from it there is a song that goes ‘allah jaane allah’ etc sung by Kamal.

Go watch it , for Kamal has given us , the common men, a two hour glory and heroism in the face of death dance of Terrorism ..

My rating : 3.5/ 5.