My Twitter feed was filled with horrible rants last Saturday, thanks to the highly awful and one of the worst Telugu movies ever made - Repel, oops.. sorry, Rebel. But it took less than a week for balance to be restored, thanks to English Vinglish this time. I wasn't looking forward "eagerly" to watching EV, but I wasn't disinterested either. I went to the movie with a clean slate on my mind, and was glad in the end that it had written down a few important lessons for life.
It's a movie of how a normal housewife realizes her worth, and how she proves to people that she deserves respect too. Shashi, the lead character of the movie, knows she is talented. She is a brilliant cook and the ladoos she makes are in high demand throughout her city. But she feels bad when she doesn't get the recognition and support from where it's most expected - her family. Her English knowledge is limited, and her husband makes fun of it. So does her daughter.
However, things take a turn when she goes to the U.S. to help her sister out in organizing her (sister's) daughter's wedding. One bitter experience at a coffee shop makes her feel unwelcome at a foreign land due to her poor English, but she gathers courage and signs up for a course that assures English fluency in just 4 weeks. That's how her journey to a new land turns into a journey that transforms her life.
She is the most intelligent student in her class of seven, and everyone, including the instructor, start liking her instantly. The class, probably a tribute to/inspired by the one in "Mind Your Language" is filled with interesting people from different backgrounds.
I'm not going to give away any more of the movie's plot because I won't be doing justice to the screenplay no matter how hard I try to elegantly pen it down here. Seeing is believing.
The reason EV impressed me - and why I feel it's a must-watch - is that it's a glorious tale of feminism. Perhaps the essence of the movie lies in one particular dialogue of Shashi which means "I don't want love. I have enough of it. All I need is respect."
There are so many Shashis in the world. They might not be a part of the corporate world, they might not earn a hefty salary, but they're the most vital cog in the wheel of the family. In fact, the Ministry of Women and Child Development's recent proposal to make it mandatory for housewives to receive a certain amount of money from their husbands - for the regular work they do for the family - raised some important questions. Irrespective of whether this is a healthy move or not, there is no doubt that this proposal highlighted the fact that housewives' play a major but indirect role in the country's economy. In one way, they are unsung heroes too. EV touches upon this aspect. Housewives, if given the respect the deserve and the motivation they require, can do wonders.
The movie is filled with a lot of feel-good, as well as eye-opening moments. For some strange reason, I felt like I was watching a movie by Radha Mohan (the director of Mozhi, Payanam, Abhiyum Naanum and a few other Tamil movies) in the theatre. The characters are believable, and not just Sri Devi (whose character is inspired by the director's mother), all the other actors have a done a tremendous job too. Everyone can certainly feel proud of being a part of such a wonderful movie.
The dialogues are very witty and do pack a few heavy punches here and there. And if you're broad-minded and conscientious enough, you'll possibly feel guilty on hearing certain dialogues.
Unfortunately, EV comes with its own share of shortcomings too. One of those, and probably the most prominent one, would be the stereotyping of a few characters, especially the students: the Frenchman is a chef, the Tamilian is a software professional who is a self-proclaimed idli lover and Rajnikanth devotee, and the Pakistani is a cab driver. I believe we've seen a fair number of these portrayals in the media already. Gauri Shinde, the director, could have given a thought to this aspect.
Similarly, a friend of mine found the dialogue "The way you are surviving in India without knowing Hindi" objectionable. That's mainly because India is a multi-cultural country and Hindi is not the only language spoken here. But I guess the Tamil and Telugu versions of the movie might have different dialogues here. At least, I sincerely hope so.
But I believe these are just minor shortcomings, and do not affect the central theme of the movie in any way. As a movie that glorifies housewives and seeks to place them on an equal pedestal along with working men, EV strikes a chord with feminists, and strives to make people more broad-minded and considerate.
Trust me, EV is for sure a treat to watch. Watch it with an empty mind and come out of the theatre with one filled with insights on leading a happy familial life.
PS: It's heartening to see that the Tamil and Hindi film industries are coming up with many such thought-provoking cinemas of late, whereas the Telugu industry is still stuck with pointless and unbelievable heroism-based mass masala movies. Tollywood badly needs a reality check, and if it does not wish to undergo one, it can go fuck off.
