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English Vinglish is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film written and directed by Gauri Shinde. The film stars Sridevi as Shashi Godbole, a small Entrepreneurship who makes snacks and sweets. Shashi enrolls in an English-speaking course to stop her husband and daughter mocking her lack of English skills and gains self-respect in the process. Shashi was written by Shinde, inspired by her mother. The film marked Sridevi's return to film acting after a 15-year hiatus; it also features Adil Hussain, French actor Mehdi Nebbou, and Priya Anand. Amitabh Bachchan makes a cameo appearance in the film's Hindi version, whereas Ajith Kumar replaced him the same portions of the film which was reshot for the Tamil language-dubbed version.
English Vinglish premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received a 5-minute standing ovation Before its release, the film was screened for the Indian press and critics. The film was released theatrically on 5 October 2012. It received universal critical acclaim, with reviewers raving Shinde's direction and screenplay, Sridevi's performance as well as the film's soundtrack and cinematography. It became a major financial success as well, grossing against a budget of .
English Vinglish won all of the Best Debut Director awards of 2012 for Gauri Shinde. It was shortlisted as India's official entry for the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. The film earned global acclaim at several international festivals and Sridevi was hailed as the "Meryl Streep of India" and the "female Rajinikanth".
Shashi's older sister, Manu, who lives in New York City, invites Shashi's family to the marriage of her daughter, Meera, with Kevin. It is decided that Shashi will travel to New York alone five weeks in advance to help Manu organise the marriage, while her husband and children will join her as the marriage approaches. During her flight to America, Shashi is given inspirational advice by a fellow passenger. Upon her arrival in New York, Shashi is warmly welcomed by Manu and her younger daughter, Radha. While Shashi is in New York, she has a traumatic experience at a Coffeehouse where a staff member is rude to her due to her inability to communicate in English. She is comforted by fellow customer, French people chef Laurent, who himself is weak in English.
Using the money she earned by selling laddoos, Shashi secretly enrolls in a conversational four-week English class, showing her resourcefulness at navigating an unfamiliar city alone. The class comprises the instructor David Fischer, a Mexicans nanny Eva, a Pakistani taxi driver Salman Khan, a Chinese hairstylist Yu Song, a Tamils software engineer Ramamurthy, a shy African-Caribbean man Udumbke, and Laurent. Shashi quickly becomes a promising and committed student, earns everyone's respect with her charming behavior and her cuisine, and gains self-confidence. Laurent becomes attracted to Shashi, leading to some interpersonal conflict. When he tries to kiss her at the rooftop of a building, Shashi pushes him away and runs off, but fails to explain that she is married.
Meanwhile, Radha finds out about Shashi's secret English classes and is supportive of her pursuit. Shashi begins watching English films at night and does her homework diligently. To complete the English-speaking course and receive an academic certificate, each student must write and deliver a five-minute speech. Shashi's family shows up earlier than planned as a surprise, and after missing out on an event where Sagar injures his leg, Shashi eventually decides to quit because of scheduling conflicts and the fact that she considers herself to be an irresponsible mother since she did not realise that Sagar was injured. The test date coincides with that of the marriage, forcing Shashi to miss the test.
Radha invites David and the entire class to the marriage, where Satish is taken aback at being introduced to a diverse group of people by his wife. Shashi gives a touching and enlightening toast to the married couple in English, surprising everyone. In her speech, Shashi extols the virtues of being married and having a family, describing the family as a safe space of love and respect where weaknesses are not mocked. Satish and Sapna regret treating her with disrespect. David declares she has passed the course with distinction and issues her the certificate. Shashi thanks Laurent for "making her feel better about herself." Shashi's family returns to India by flight, where Shashi fluently communicates in English with the flight attendant.
Cameo appearances
English Vinglish also marked the Bollywood debut of South Indian actress Priya Anand, who previously worked in the Tamil cinema and Telugu cinema film industries. It is the directorial debut of Gauri Shinde, who previously worked as an advertisement filmmaker. It was shot mostly in New York. The principal photography concluded in October 2011 and it was released in Hindi language and Tamil language. It was later dubbed into Telugu.
Ajith Kumar performed the cameo appearance without receiving payment. He even flew in for the shooting at his own cost.
The Tamil and Telugu theatrical trailers were subsequently released in Chennai and Hyderabad respectively. Sridevi also appeared on Kaun Banega Crorepati with Gauri Shinde and on the dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa.
After the Toronto premiere, some international media outlets hailed Sridevi as the "Meryl Streep of India". 2 weeks later, America's entertainment weekly Variety wrote in its review of English Vinglish that it found Sridevi "disarmingly charming in a manner that recalls Audrey Hepburn." English Vinglish was selected to be showcased in December 2012 at the Marrakech International Film Festival; it was screened to an audience of around 15,000 viewers and was attended by Sridevi, Shinde, Balki and Nebbou.
In February 2013, English Vinglish was screened at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival as part of Indo-German Film Week. Shinde conducted a screenwriting workshop and spoke about the film and women's rights in India.
The film had its US premiere at the 36th Portland International Film Festival. Writer and critic David D. Levine praised the film, saying "though it's not a musical, strictly speaking, there's quite a bit of music and dance, and the film is laugh-out-loud funny and heart-rending by turns ... My favorite film of this PIFF. 5 stars out of 5." In April 2013, English Vinglish was selected to play at the third Beijing International Film Festival and the International Film Festival of Panama. In May the same year, it won the 'Best Visiting Artist' award at the San Diego Film Festival. Andrew Friedenberg, director of the Cinema Society of San Diego announced that English Vinglish "dominated the voting".
English Vinglish was theatrically released in Mainland China on 24 February 2023, the sixth anniversary of Sridevi's death, with a reported 6,000 screen premiere. Despite its low revenues upon release, the film was well received by Chinese audiences according to the Global Times.
| + English Vinglish worldwide gross revenue breakdown | |
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Despite new releases Aiyyaa, Bhoot Returns and Student of the Year, the film's box office revenues remained steady. At the end of its second week, its revenue exceeded . Lifetime earnings for the film in India stand at over net, and () gross. English Vinglish ran for 50 days in theatres.
English Vinglish created box office history in Hong Kong in May 2013, becoming the second biggest Bollywood hit in the territory after Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots (2009). It earned the distinction of being screened at Hong Kong's Director's Club: a privilege usually reserved for the best and most celebrated films in the world. English Vinglish grossed in Hong Kong. English Vinglish also created waves in Japan when it was first premiered in 2014. It outperformed most other films and became the second highest-grossing Hindi film in Japan, earning around $1.4 million. The film is second only to 3 Idiots which had collected . It got an overwhelming response and Sridevi was hailed as the 'Female Rajinikanth of Japan'. It also grossed US$300,000 in Taiwan, making it the second biggest Bollywood film there after 3 Idiots. In South Korea, the film drew a box office audience of 31,334 viewers in 2014, grossing (). Its total gross in East Asia was as of 2014, bringing the film's overseas total to , which in is .
Another 4 out of 5 came from Raja Sen of Rediff, who called it "a winner all the way" and wrote "Sridevi excels in fleshing out her character." Taran Adarsh also scored it 4 out of 5 and called it "a remarkable motion picture ... A must-watch for every parent, every child. Strongly recommended!" Critic Subhash K Jha gave a 4.5 rating, and wrote that Sridevi "makes the contemporary actresses, even the coolest ones, look like jokes ... If you watch only 2 films every year make sure you see English Vinglish twice!" Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave it 3.5, and said that Sridevi delivers "a performance that is nothing short of perfect ... It's warm and fuzzy, and leaves you with a big smile on your face." IMDb gave the film a score of eight out of ten.
Firstpost's Rubina Khan gave 5 out of 5, saying "Sridevi brings acting back in English Vinglish". Komal Nahta said the film was "beyond stars" and said Sridevi "makes the best comeback in Bollywood history and delivers a landmark performance". Social movie rating site MOZVO gave it 4.3 out of 5. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, gave it 3 out of 5, and called it "an undemanding picture that goes down as well as the heroine's tasty Laddu".
Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail gave it 2 out of 4 and wrote: "One wonders how long the neglectful Satish will remember the message of equality and gratitude if it is delivered as gently as this movie does." Amer Shoib of The Cinema Journal gave it 4/5 and called the film, "a hilarious, touching, sensitive, and sweet film that marks the triumphant come back of India's biggest female star...Sridevi." Indian columnist Shobha De tweeted, "Paresh Rawal and SrideviActors of the Year! The rest are just successful stars!" and wrote a column titled 'What is that something about Sridevi?' UTV Stars called it the "Mother India of our times".
The Hollywood Reporter also gave a glowing review, and said, "Indian screen legend Sridevi triumphs in a gentle, but affecting, story of a woman's awakening self-respect ... It's no surprise that by the end of the film, Shashi will conquer her fears, but the route Shinde takes to get her there is distinctively Shashi's. The image of the newly-confident Shashi striding down a Manhattan street, a Take-out coffee in hand and a trench coat belted over her sari, will make you smile days after you leave the theater ... Ultimately, what make English Vinglish memorable are the small, step-by-step choices Shashi makes to transforms herself. Yes, there's grit there, but it's tempered with compassion and dignity. The way the character has been crafted by Shinde, and interpreted by Sridevi, is gloriously feminine, and uniquely Indian." Amazon Prime Video rated it 7.8 out of 10 and stated: "The challenges of an ordinary middle class woman who is not proficient with the English language, and how she overcomes them."
| + List of accolades won by English Vinglish | ||
Sridevi (left) and Gauri Shinde (right) received widespread critical acclaim for their performance and direction, respectively, in the film, garnering several awards and nominations. | ||
| { class="collapsible collapsed" width=100% ! colspan=3 style="background-color: #D9E8FF; text-align: center;" | Accolades | |
| Award | Won | Nominated |
English Vinglish garnered awards and nominations in a variety of categories, with particular praise for its direction and Sridevi's performance. At the 58th Filmfare Awards, English Vinglish received 4 nominations, including Best Film and Best Actress (Sridevi) and won Best Debut Director (Shinde). Sridevi received Best Actress nominations at several awards ceremonies, which apart from Filmfare include IIFA, Screen, Zee Cine, and Star Guild Awards. At the 11th Stardust Awards, the film earned 5 nominations, going on to win Best Drama Actress (Sridevi) and Best Debut Director (Shinde).
| Screen Awards | Most Promising Debut Director | Gauri Shinde | |
| Best Actress | Sridevi | ||
| Best Story | Gauri Shinde | ||
| Best Screenplay | Gauri Shinde | ||
| Best Background Music | Amit Trivedi | ||
| Best Editing | Hemanti Sarkar | ||
| Filmfare Awards | Best Debut Director | Gauri Shinde | |
| Best Film | English Vinglish | ||
| Best Director | Gauri Shinde | ||
| Best Actress | Sridevi | ||
| Hello Magazine Hall of Fame Awards | Outstanding Performance of the Year | Sridevi | |
| IRDS Film Award for Social Concern | Best Female Character | Sridevi | |
| Laadli National Award | Best Mainline Film | English Vinglish | |
| 24th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival | Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature | English Vinglish | |
| Stardust Awards | Best Film | English Vinglish | |
| Best Director | Gauri Shinde | ||
| Star of the Year – Female | Sridevi | ||
| Best Drama Actress | Sridevi | ||
| Best Debut Director | Gauri Shinde | ||
| Star Guild Awards | Best Film | English Vinglish | |
| Best Director | Gauri Shinde | ||
| Best Actress | Sridevi | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Priya Anand | ||
| Best Debut Director | Gauri Shinde | ||
| Best Story | Gauri Shinde | ||
| Best Screenplay | Gauri Shinde | ||
| Best Dialogue | Gauri Shinde | ||
| Women's International Film and Television Showcase | Diversity Award | English Vinglish | |
| Zee Cine Awards | Best Film | English Vinglish | |
| Best Actor – Female | Sridevi | ||
| Most Promising Director | Gauri Shinde | ||
| 14th IIFA Awards | Best Film | English Vinglish | |
| Best Actress | Sridevi | ||
| Best Debut Director | Gauri Shinde | ||
| Best Story | Gauri Shinde |
Sridevi won the "Vuclip Icons of 2012" mobile survey to be voted as the Most Admired Actress of Bollywood. Her performance created an enormous impact when Amitabh Bachchan said in his blog that Sridevi's heart-rending acting in English Vinglish moved him to tears leaving "collective lumps in the throat". A poll by BollywoodLife declared Sridevi as the "Most Powerful Actress in B-Town", winning by a landslide 75% votes over all the current actresses.
The actress was featured as one of the Top Newsmakers of 2012 by NDTV and Filmfare. Filmfare listed Sridevi as the "Top Game Changer of 2012" for making "a hit comeback after getting married and mothering 2 kids". Reuters' list stated that "Sridevi, in her comeback movie, outshone any actress in any role this year and proved once again that you don't need a male star to make a good Bollywood film", while India Today said, "Sridevi was reinvented in a role of substance". MTV wrote, "when an actor of Sridevi's calibre breaks her 15-year hiatus, you can be sure she has a winner in tow".
Since its worldwide success, English Vinglish consistently appeared on media outlets' Best Films of the Year lists. It was ranked first on the Times of Indias list of "Top 10 Films of 2012", which compared Gauri Shinde's directorial debut with veterans Manoj Kumar, Gulzar and Aparna Sen. It featured in "Best Bollywood Films of 2012" by Reuters, "Bollywood's Most Appreciated Films of 2012" by IBN Live, 'Top Bollywood Movies of 2012' by India Today, "Best Films of 2012" list by Rediff and Forbes "Best of Bollywood 2012". The film ranked third on MTV's "Top 5 Movies of 2012". It ranked No. 2 on Raja Sen's "Ten Best Films of 2012" and 4th on Rajeev Masand's list of "Top 5 Hits of 2012". The café scene in the film ranked No. 2 on CNN-IBN's list of "Top 10 Bollywood's Best Scenes of 2012". English Vinglish, particularly Sridevi's character in the film, was noted for inspiring Dalit girls in Bihar to master the English language. Filmfare listed it as one of the fifteen strongest women characters in Bollywood. Radhika Seth and Riya Dhankar of Vogue India listed it as one of the most empowering female characters in Bollywood. Srishti Magan of ScoopWhoop listed it as one of the nineteen most relatable female characters from Bollywood.
Director Gauri Shinde featured in the Financial Times 2012 list of "25 Indians To Watch". She also featured on Rediff
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