Title: English Vinglish
English Title: English Vinglish
Country: India
Language: Hindi
Year: 2012
Cast:
- Sridevi
- Adil Hussain
- Mehdi Nebbou
- Priya Anand
- Sujatha Kumar
- Navika Kotia
- Shivansh Kotia
- Cory Hibbs
- Maria Romano
SYNOPSIS
A quiet, sweet tempered housewife endures small slights from her well-educated husband and daughter everyday because of her inability to speak and understand English.
REVIEW
English Vinglish is about a typical housewife being unappreciated for all the things that she does for her family while being ridiculed for her shortcomings, such as her inability to speak fluent English. She finally gets an opportunity to learn English for four weeks when she goes abroad, and acquiring new knowledge also leads to her gaining self-confidence and self-respect.
Sashi Godbole was understandably apprehensive on her first time traveling alone, and a fellow passenger gave her precious advice on how to deal with her current situation. The passenger said, " This is your first trip to the US, and first times happen only once. Every first experience is so special so enjoy. Celebrate confidently.".
Anyway, I come from a country where English is an official language and most schools teach classes in English, so I can't really understand what it means to not know English. To be honest, I don't really think being fluent in English is anything special, as it seems pretty common such as say, knowing how to use the computer or a smart phone.
However, I have found myself in situations wherein I have to talk to people in a foreign language and I felt stupid sometimes for not being able to communicate properly. I think that's primarily why people want to learn foreign languages, so we can understand other people and so we can also make ourselves be understood.
To be honest, I think Sashi is insecure and it affects how she interprets what her family does in a negative manner. We can't really know if other people have bad intentions or not, but I want to think that her family members are correcting her pronunciation for her own sake. Yes, they laugh at her mistakes but it's possible that they are not laughing at her.
I have learned over time that however we interpret any situation speaks volumes on ourselves. What we think other people are thinking and feeling is actually more of a reflection of what we are thinking and feeling, and more often than not doesn't have anything to do with what other people are really thinking and feeling.
Consequently, we can't really control other people even regarding how they deal with us, and what they think and feel about us. The only thing we have control over is our own selves, and that's all. If other people think negatively of us, we can try to change how they see us but our efforts may be useless and they will still think however they want.
Her family members may have a problem with Sashi's inability to speak English fluently, but ultimately Sashi also feels bad about not being fluent in English and she addressed the situation by enrolling in a four-week English course.
Sashi was the only one who can control how she feels and what she thinks about herself. In addition, she's the only one who can deal with her shortcomings; she can choose to accept her inability to not speak English or she can choose to work hard and learn English; and whatever she chooses, she's the one who has to deal with the consequences.
I was intrigued when Sashi commented about how differently men and women are perceived when it comes to cooking. Sashi stated, "When a man cooks, it's art. When a woman cooks, it's her duty."
Unfortunately, I think I would have to agree with Sashi. People are always amazed when men are capable of doing the general household chores, and are usually unimpressed when a woman displays similar skills.
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English Vinglish
