Gauri Shinde's English Vinglish beautifully captures the transformation of Shashi, a meek, put-upon Indian housewife who speaks only Hindi, into a confident citizen of the world, over the length of a four-week crash course in English. By highlighting her struggles and humiliation, the movie raises an important question that is currently being debated widely in India-should English define one's capabilities or position in the society, especially in a country like India where English is not a native language for the majority of the people? Unfortunately, in our quest to imitate the west, we have started to appreciate everything that is western, including language, culture etc., and that too at the cost of our own traditions and culture. Shinde does a commendable job in portraying this attitude of people living in urban India, with Shashi's children and husband not only mocking at her, but also being visibly embarrassed by her inability (such as her daughter at the PTA meeting or her husband at the wedding), making her feel worthless and unimportant. As Shashi puts it, it seems as if everything important is discussed in English, and anything else does not add value.
Once in the United States for her niece's wedding, Shashi is faced with ever-mounting humiliations, in a series of beautifully mounted, yet squirm-inducing scenes. Her experience at the cafe ordering a sandwich is particularly noteworthy here. This highlights a much broader challenge-the lack of acceptance and tolerance in our society today. At the same time, we see an appreciation for her traditional wear, which is very ironic in that others appreciate our traditions, and we as Indians fail to value them.
The most memorable part of the movie though is when Shashi resolves to change her circumstances by learning English. Her dedication and strength of character reveals a totally different aspect of her personality, and reinforces the ability of an Indian housewife. In fact, this reminded me of Radha from Mother India, who exemplified these qualities as well. While it is obvious to the audience that Shashi will become an eloquent English speaker by the end of the movie, the route that Shinde takes to reach that point is very interesting and unique. Right from Bachan's inspirational conversation to Shashi independently navigating New York City's subway and buses and confidently ordering coffee (which can be compared to her earlier humiliating experience at the cafe) shows the gradual development of her personality, lending authenticity to the movie.
I also found Shashi's conversation with the French man to be very insightful. When he praises her laddoos, Shashi retorts, "When a man cooks, it’s an art. When a woman cooks, it’s just her duty." This reflects the Indian society's perception of a woman, which, even today, continues to be very stereotypical. Also, the fact that she remains firmly rooted to her values and principles as an Indian woman, and strongly retaliates when the French man expresses his love for her, exemplifies an ideal balance between modernity and traditions, it perhaps being Shinde's vision of an ideal Indian woman.
Finally, I found Shashi's speech to be very relevant in today's context. With increasing modernization and independence, the concept of family is weakening, and she does a great job in highlighting its importance. At the same time, she calls for respect and equal treatment of women, besides more acceptance of the diversity around us. In fact, the speech does a great job in summarizing the key takeaways of the movie.
Once in the United States for her niece's wedding, Shashi is faced with ever-mounting humiliations, in a series of beautifully mounted, yet squirm-inducing scenes. Her experience at the cafe ordering a sandwich is particularly noteworthy here. This highlights a much broader challenge-the lack of acceptance and tolerance in our society today. At the same time, we see an appreciation for her traditional wear, which is very ironic in that others appreciate our traditions, and we as Indians fail to value them.
The most memorable part of the movie though is when Shashi resolves to change her circumstances by learning English. Her dedication and strength of character reveals a totally different aspect of her personality, and reinforces the ability of an Indian housewife. In fact, this reminded me of Radha from Mother India, who exemplified these qualities as well. While it is obvious to the audience that Shashi will become an eloquent English speaker by the end of the movie, the route that Shinde takes to reach that point is very interesting and unique. Right from Bachan's inspirational conversation to Shashi independently navigating New York City's subway and buses and confidently ordering coffee (which can be compared to her earlier humiliating experience at the cafe) shows the gradual development of her personality, lending authenticity to the movie.
I also found Shashi's conversation with the French man to be very insightful. When he praises her laddoos, Shashi retorts, "When a man cooks, it’s an art. When a woman cooks, it’s just her duty." This reflects the Indian society's perception of a woman, which, even today, continues to be very stereotypical. Also, the fact that she remains firmly rooted to her values and principles as an Indian woman, and strongly retaliates when the French man expresses his love for her, exemplifies an ideal balance between modernity and traditions, it perhaps being Shinde's vision of an ideal Indian woman.
Finally, I found Shashi's speech to be very relevant in today's context. With increasing modernization and independence, the concept of family is weakening, and she does a great job in highlighting its importance. At the same time, she calls for respect and equal treatment of women, besides more acceptance of the diversity around us. In fact, the speech does a great job in summarizing the key takeaways of the movie.
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