Englisch für Anfänger

English Vinglish is a beautiful journey that a middle class Indian housewife takes, to regain something she lost or probably never really got, ironically enough, in a foreign land with a foreign language as a tool.

The movie has a simple plan, and audience gets to know about it right at the beginning. There ain't any surprises or twists therein to wow you, its purely the execution of a simple yet universally appealing plot that makes English Vinglish one of the most beautifully made movie of the year.

This is a sort of cinema which has traditionally been oiled with loads of melodrama and any director would have wanted to do that considering the fact that people who are going to relate the most with the central character are most prone to be pleasantly affected by the overdose of melodrama ( Yes, I am being a little 'judgemental' here!). Credit must go to Gauri Shinde for shunning the temptation and going ahead with a recipe where she was able to create delight out of right mix of ingredients rather than putting a coating of sugar on the 'laddoos'.

Make no mistake, the feel good factor of the movie isn't there just because all the pieces have been put together in the correct order but also because there are layers attached to the story and the characters. These layers help English Vinglish surpass the expectations that an ordinary viewer would have had with it before stepping into the cinema theatre. These layers have been treated with utmost care and are interwoven in the script with great skill. Even though the plot of the movie doesn't encapsulate many genres, the scenes are successful in generating a range of emotions. Thanks to the central plot, humor becomes a part of majority of the scenes and it is never forced upon you.The entertainment quotient of EV is way more than one would have expected.

There are a few sequences which could have easily gone in the zone of 'Oh, thats ridiculous!' but yet they were right there in the 'that will do all right' category and this was only possible because of masterful Sridevi who hasn't lost even an inch of her charm and she still stands way ahead of any of the contemporary actresses when it comes to the art of acting. Her presence is so overpowering that one hardly notices or gets annoyed by certain instances of manufactured dialogues and stereotypical display of characters. The journey, the transformation and its impact on the movie and the audience wouldn't have had half the quality had there not been Sridevi at the helm. Every other actor (and guest actor) plays their part well enough to create the right garnish for this savory meal.

Without taking any credit away from Gauri Shinde, everything from costumes, to music and locations to screenplay had impressions of R Balki's(producer) previous works and he would have been of great help in the making of EV as well.

The affect that English Vinglish will have on a particular individual will depend on the relationship that he/she has with the one/two women that hold the most important place(s) in their lives. The degree of impact will vary, though one thing is for sure, it will only lie on the right side of the axis.

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A delightful film that must be appreciated of its simplicity in delivering an important message.

How important are the feelings of those, who do not know a language that we speak so much. Is it right to belittle those for they can be good in something else? Is it right to disrespect parents and feel embarrassed when they do not know English?

More than anything else, this is the tale of a mother who is being deserted by her kids and husband for she does not know a language that they all speak. And she learns it to redeem her respect. I loved the way Sridevi carried herself and am so very happy seeing her back on the silver screen which she set ablaze many years ago with films like Chandni, Mr. India and Chaalbaaz to name a few. Sridevi is indeed the best part of this film, as she has a poise that subdues the flamboyance and the stardom of her and gets her into the character. So what I saw here was Shashi (Sridevi) more than Sridevi and that's great to begin my review with.

If you loved a movie like PAA, then there are definite chances that you may love this too, coz it takes the simplicty from there and applies the same to a different story. I loved PAA, so I loved this one too. But even if you dislike PAA, try this and you may have a surprise then.

The good thing of this movie is it's writing, take that scene in which Shashi gets a call from her daughter when she was looking for her scrapbook, and here it is

Shashi : "Maine use chupaya taaki main bhi na padh sakoo" Daughter :Padhna Aaye tab na"

That is, "How can you read, when you don't know"

The supporting cast has also done well from a French cook to a Pakistani guy, they all teamed up well, but it has it's share of not so likable or rather preachy moments like the teacher being gay. But I will give in to all that, coz it is done quietly and not making fuss.

Be it the climax, it was done in a subdued manner and that is why it was beautiful for me.

I love this film for its simplicity and for just one reason "SRIDEVI" all the other technical departments did their job superbly but "SRIDEVI" did something really beautiful. Even the way she walked on those streets was graceful. Also, a mention to music and Amit Trivedi has given beautiful music.

Thanks Gauri and R Balki for giving SRIDEVI back to us with this. And thanks to SRIDEVI for doing this film. A 4/5 for this.

"If we don't love ourselves we use to attract towards new things but as soon as we began to love ourselves we feel confident and old things look prettier again." This is one dialogue from the movie's lead protagonist which teaches how one can come back to his normal life; English Vinglish is a sweet Laddu with almonds of a logical script, cashew nuts of nice music, raisins of love and pistachios of Hope. English Vinglish is not about just English classes, it's just a metaphor or platform to narrate a simple yet very effective story of self determination, self respect and love about family and love about ourselves.

English Vinglish is undoubtedly a movie about the Family, the children & their attitude towards their parents, the husband who does not see his wife skills and potential beyond a born Laddu Maker and yes, it's about a mother who lost her identity as a woman in the society after marriage being a house wife, as her world does not go beyond her family.

Shashi Godbole (Sridevi) is a simple middle class housewife living with her husband Satish (Adil Hussain) along with her daughter Sapna and a son named Sagar in Pune, India. She is an excellent cook searching for her own respect among children and husband due to poor understanding of English language. One day she got the call from her sister to visit New York to attend her daughter's wedding, but she was reluctant to go alone because of her poor English language, thou she finally agreed on her husband's persuasion. In New York, during her visit to a café she felt humiliated due to her understanding of English language which brought a reason for her to fight against the odds and make a place for herself. She left from there and suddenly saw an advertisement for four weeks English speaking classes and that's how she got the way to prove herself by learning a language which is global now and a synonym of 'Being Modern' in Indian societies called English, for Her VINGLISH.

Overall, English Vinglish is a memorable watch for the genuine script, superb performances, nice music and definitely the feel good factor it has. In Last scene, Shashi requests the air hostess a Hindi newspaper in English Language, and that's we called in Sridevi's MJ Style without getting 'Judgemental' –YoOO.

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For about the last 3 years, i have special interest with Indian movies. I found out that Indian movie is worth to watch, the idea of the story is original, based on India everyday life, problem, dilemma. I know Vinglish was something when I read about the plot. This is not about romance between two countries, love which separated by time and distance, unapproved love. This about a good housewife who was very loyal and serve her family entirely. Her name is Shashi. She had side job as a laddu maker (Indian traditional cake). But one thing which become a family joke all the time was her inability to speak English. A very obvious moment how embarrassed her daughter, Sapna, with her was when she should replaced her husband in school meeting (reports day). This the new information to me, in some schools in India, the daily language is English. Sashi unable talk in English and asked the teacher talked in Hindi, Sapna glared at her and refused talk to her on their way returned home. Not only Sapna, her husband, Sathish somehow disregarded her ability as a laddu maker only.

Sashi asked by his sister to help her prepared her wedding's daughter in US, Sashi willing to help, but the consequence was she must leave by herself. The others family member would joined her later. Sashi was afraid because she unable speak English and this is the first time she left her home all by herself. But eventually she left. With full of happiness meeting her sister and nephew, Radha, she's still bothered about the embarrassment of her daughter and what her husband said.

One day she saw an ad about learning English fluently on 6 weeks! Sashi showed her interest and memorized the number. She sign up herself for the program secretly. In this course she meet a cute French guy, Laurent, who helped her in the other day. He fancy her which was just too visible! Sashi enjoyed the class very much and followed the lesson well. She gained confidence and decided to follow the class till the end of the program. But Radha found out Sashi walked with Laurent, and asked who was he. Sashi revealed she took an English course and Radha supported her. Will Sashi finish her English course? Which one Sathi choose, Sathis or Laurent? You should find it by yourself by watching this humor-drama movie!

Many scenes become my favorites, conversation between Amitabachan and American Immigration officer is one of. Gauri Shinde as a director, was very rigorous present it in a smart way, which is mostly I found in Hollywood movie. As an Indian movie, i gave you all my thumbs! :)

"English Vinglish" is a film that only a woman could have made. Gauri Shindi lends her feminine sensibilities to the film which is why it is a big success. She captures the nuances in a typical Indian housewife's tryst with her kids and husband.

Although there is no true villainous character in the film, it is painful to see the leading lady Shashi (Sridevi) suffer unintentional humiliation at the hands of her teenage daughter and husband because of her inability to converse in English.

It is very satisfying to see her grasp the basics of the English language and thereby gain self-confidence. Her English class has an interesting mix of students from across the world including a Frenchman who is besotted with her.

The feel-good nature of the film can be attributed to the final scene in particular in which Shashi delivers a thoughtful speech in English. Loved the film but didn't think too much of the soundtrack, especially the track "Manhattan". Also felt that her experiences with people in America were sugar-coated.

Nonetheless, the film was worth its time. I'm looking forward to introducing my mother to this film.