The first picture that sprang to my mind when I first saw the trailer of ‘English Vinglish’ on TV was that of  the dream sequence from the movie ‘Mr. India’ in which the heroine with her heaving  bosom in a blue chiffon had  gyrated seductively to ‘Kate Nahin Kat Te..’ with highly orgasmic groans and excessive panting in between. Circa 2012: the actress has swapped her ultra- voluptuous sarees for a more subtle one and her provocative make-up with a beauty that seems to have remained untouched.

She was called the ‘chiffon queen’, said my mom, who practically wanted to wear everything the actress patented as her chosen attire through the score of films she did. Being a new generation among the movie goers, I found it quite exotic. I’d seen few of her movies before- Mr. India, Himmatwala etc., and I thought she was very alluring. For one, she enticed the camera with her exuding sensuality and expressions with such poise and grace. And even more, because I thought she was electrifying as an actress, no matter whom she was playing.

In an era where we see alarmingly young and sexy actresses who just slather themselves on screen for fame and money by doing pretty much everything that comes their way, I got totally wooed by the yesteryear actress Sridevi who recently saw her new high.  A few minutes into the movie and I couldn’t help but fall in love with her statuesque beauty and unconventional acting.  Sridevi as a de-glam housewife was exceptionally charming and the way she emoted when she was frowned upon for her poor English was very heart rending.

The movie just touched my raw nerves.  It’s such a warm and loving tale of a middle-class, semi-literate housewife who struggles to earn respect from her dear ones who mock at her for not knowing the Queen’s language- English ( like her daughter who was ashamed  to introduce her mother to her classmates and snapped her for speaking in Hindi with her principal).  The movie is uncannily simple yet the character played by Sri is so pleasant and firm. So much so that it made me go 'awww' from the very first shot when she wakes up to her regular mundane chores looking all dainty and slender in a saree (those eyes were most magnetic and her charm was to die for!) to the very end of the movie where she delivers a heart-warming toast to her niece at her wedding- in English!

There are many such endearing scenes in the movie that made me smile and many more that made me shed few tears( oh, who am I kidding?! I cried buckets!!) It won’t be an exaggeration to say that, in 2 hours, Sridevi delivered more acting than other bollywood actresses I’ve seen in the past few years.  She enacts  with all attention and vehemence the character required.  Whether it was her reaction or rather the lack of it when her family commented ruthlessly on her language skills, or when she was facing an existential crisis of sorts, or that one time when she goes to a restaurant alone to buy coffee and runs away crying, feeling vulnerable after failing to comprehend the questions of the counter-girl who was enough pissed due to her inability to communicate.

The movie was an education all in itself.  It microscopes into the feelings of an impeccable and selfless person who isn’t well-versed with the language and thus finds herself become a subject of ridicule-albeit in a subtle way.  And secondly, it brought reality to the screen. There is a subject everyone can identify with. We all have someone in our family or in community who is a piece of embarrassment and mockery for her husband and kids. Or a daughter who refuses to flaunt her mother in front of her friends.  What is more involving about the movie is the way the fellow students in the English class are shown so well connected with each other. Despite them being so oblivious to each other’s language, their incompetent English suffices. The French chef, who is totally besotted by her foreign appeal and simplicity, finds a friend in her and tries to regain her confidence.

I thought it was a lesson for all of us English-mouthed people, who find faults in erroneous English spoken by people whose first language isn't English, more than someone whose first vernacular is English. And it amazes me how this conviction is so inculcated in us and it’s almost a major syndrome that divides and defines the different stratus of the society- the upper and the middle class- who consider it elegant! The movie successfully accentuates this strange phenomenon and concludes triumphantly with a sound and warm message.

I’d watch it again. And again. For Sridevi! =)