Saturday, 29 December 2012

Times of India; Best of 2012; English Vinglish


English Vinglish: Sridevi...ah! Is she really back??? Pinch me! Was I dreaming? Is this really the work of a first-time director? Gauri Shinde's directorial debut ranks right up there along with Manoj Kumar in Upkar, Gulzar's Khushboo, Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Khamoshi: The Musical, Aparna Sen's 36 Chowringhee Lane and Kalpana Lajmi's Ek Pal among the most accomplished directorial debut of our times. Gauri's USP was the simplicity of the tale. A Marathi housewife struggles to get conversant with the English language, finds her bearings and a sense of self in the bustling not-always-unfriendly anonymity of New York, comes home.The End. The film was exceedingly clever in premise, presentation and packaging and yet at heart a very innocent and artless tale with the nuances emerging not from cinematic ambivalence but the very essence of daily life where we often encounter existential wisdom without recognizing its worth. Sridevi's performance makes her a front-runner for all the Best Actress awards this year. She has only one competition. Priyanka Chopra in Barfi.


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