The Triumph of Sridevi- English Vinglish

Netflix, you know I love you, but what are you thinking? Why are you not offering the wonderful English Vinglish? Why is not even on your radar, not even under the dreaded "availability unknown" tag?

Well, people, there's always amazon.com, which is how I got English Vinglish as a Christmas present.

Sometime last year, before English Vinglish's theatrical release, the internet was abuzz with news of a comeback vehicle for Sridevi. Bollywood afficiandados were doing the internet equivalent of excitedly squealing, "SRIDEVI!" Meanwhile, as an enthusiastic newbie, I rejoined with... "Who?"

Well, Sridevi is a star. I say "is," not was, because when you can come back to films after 15 years with a reception and a performance like Sridevi's for English Vinglish, you are definitely and irrevocably a star. When I first heard tell of English Vinglish, I had never seen or heard of Sridevi. After my abortive attempt to watch Chandni, this is the only Sridevi film I have seen all the way through. She. Is. Fantastic. I'm almost tempted to try to finish Chandni for her sake, but I think I'll see if I can find some of her other pictures first, in the hopes the storylines will make me less nauseated.

English Vinglish is the charming, simple story of an Indian housewife, Shashi, who is intelligent and runs her own little business out of her home, making and selling ladoos. (As a side note, after watching this film I very badly wanted a ladoo, despite never having tasted one before. Unfortunately for me, I know of no way to procure one around here.) However, she lacks confidence, and is frequently the butt of insensitive jokes from her husband and obnoxious insults from her daughter, because she can't speak English. Apparently, this is a thing in India, at least in some circles. I won't pretend to fully understand it or all its implications. At any rate, the daughter is truly and hideously awful to her mother. At least Shashi also has an adorable little boy who doesn't treat her badly.

Well, Shashi's niece in New York is getting married, and Shashi travels to the Big Apple for the first time to help with the preparations, with the rest of the family planning to follow closer to time for the actual wedding. With time on her hands during the day, she covertly joins an English class, complete with an international assortment of comic characters, plus a Frenchman (Mehdi Nebbou) who is easy on the eyes and fascinated by Shashi.

And let me disabuse you now: there is no romance happening here. She is flattered by his attentions, but that is as far as it goes. I, frankly, love this. I love that they are able to make a story about a middle-aged woman looking for something more in her life, and trying to gain confidence and self-respect, and refrain from the cliche of "a sexy man sweeping her off her feet (and a divorce) is what she needs for self-actualization!"
No, Shashi gains confidence as she makes strides toward the goal she has set for herself.

This film is a gem. It reminds me of the wonderful Japanese film Shall We Dance (which was remade into a much lesser film starring Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez) as a story about reaching a point in your life where you're wondering if what you are is all you ever will be, if how people are used to seeing you is all there is to you, if there is no change or growth left. Shashi's growth and her inner strength are marvelous to watch, and Sridevi, as I think I mentioned, is just amazing and simply stunning. When she's onscreen, you can't look away.

English Vinglish isn't perfect, but it's so large-hearted and winning that it's pretty easy to dismiss some stereotyping and other minor flaws. I really wanted a scene where Shashi tells her daughter, in no uncertain terms, that her behavior is unacceptable, but I guess one can't have everything. Another disappointment for such as I is the lack of big dance numbers (could have had at least one at the wedding!), but on the other hand, it makes for a film that should easily appeal beyond Bollywood fans to anyone without a crippling case of cynicism.

Watch English Vinglish if you can! I'll lend you my copy.

Stopping the moonlight- My attempt to watch Chandni

When Bollywood works for me, it is a fabulous cinematic experience. It may make my heart sing or crack, but either way, it's worth the investment of my time. But let's face it: there's a reason Bollywood's reputation isn't entirely sparkly with praise from across the globe. It doesn't always work. Sometimes it is flat, or dreadful, or flatly dreadful.

In other news, I tried to watch Chandni.

I think Chandni has been in my "Netflix recommends for you" row since I first watched a few Bollywood films. I saw it there but it never caught my eye, what with the surfeit of Bollywood available, enough to look into it. However, it has been slowly and inexorably looming larger in my awareness for some time. I learned, because it is used in many song lyrics, that "chandni" means "moonlight." And I thought, "Oh, that's what that movie title means..." I gradually became aware, watching the song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi over and over again (many many times- it was the toddler's favorite for a good long time, so the entire family has seen this one countless times) while also reading and learning more about Bollywood, that the lyrics of the song are in large part made up of references to other songs and movies. "Oh," I thought, "When he sings 'Meri Chandni,' maybe it's a reference to that film I see on Netflix..." Most recently, with the buzz surrounding Sridevi's newest film English Vinglish, I, well, heard of Sridevi, who plays the heroine (from whose name the title comes) of Chandni and is, according to some internet sources, "a legend."

Moreover, it is a Yash Chopra film! I thought it was time to pull the trigger.

The film starts promisingly, with a dance number by Sridevi, looking impossibly large-eyed, dewy, and winsome.

While she is dancing, I got the first hint of something amiss: Rishi Kapoor is there, angling to watch her dance, trying to sneak into the performance although (for some reason) her audience is entirely female (she's dancing at a wedding celebration). I saw Rishi Kapoor in Bobby, and he was fresh-faced and appealing. Chandni is some 16 years later, and he looks flabby-faced and unattractive. (Sorry, Rishi, but it's true. You're looking much more palatable now that no one is trying to make a romantic lead out of you.) They also stuck him in the most ridiculously unflattering clothes. For a futile moment I hoped he wasn't to be her hero, but I also sinkingly knew he was, because there he was, ogling her dancing. From my limited Bollywood experience, being desperate to see or being captivated by a girl's dancing is a sure sign of a sudden and irrevocable plummet into romance. This was not a good sign. But there was the possibility that they could make it work.

It did not work.

After her dance, Rishi's character accosts (assaults) Chandni on the stairs, declaring his love for her apropos of nothing (does she even know who this guy is??) and demanding she reciprocate ("Do you love me? Yes or no?"). At one point, as she tries to slip past him and go back to whatever she was planning to do before he inserted himself into her life, he actually grabs her wrists and twists her into himself, holding her is a semi-chokehold. My eight-year-old daughter was in the room and commented in disgust, "I would never want someone to grab me like that!" And we immediately had a little discussion about how she was perfectly right in feeling that way, about how he was being a jerk and no one should be treated like that, and about how this was an entirely inappropriate way to express affection. Because, wow, Great Jangling Bangles what a hideous way to kick-off a relationship! After she has finally escaped to her room she looks at her wrist to see it bleeding because Rishi broke a bangle when he grabbed her. How romantic.

As the wedding celebrations continue Rishi's character keeps inserting "Yes or no?" accompanied by meaningful looks into his every interaction with Chandni. And how does he finally get the answer he wants? He takes her for a motorcycle ride and scares her by driving fast and recklessly, shouting that he'll stop when she says "yes." So that's how their love affair begins. Under duress. None of this is even slightly ameliorated by any chemistry between Rishi and Sridevi, because I can see none. Later, Rishi shows her his room, which he has wallpapered with various photos of her. She is apparently touched by this disturbing behavior, which was disturbing to me as a viewer.

To make a long story short (too late), I stopped watching during the "honeymoon in Switzerland" dream sequence. I do not have enough free time in my days to permit me to even come close, over the course of my lifetime, to watching all the Bollywood films I might possibly find enjoyable. I'm certainly not going to waste any of my allotted Bollywood hours watching something so joyless.

"I wonder if she'll like me in Amar, Akbar, Anthony..."

If anyone out there wants to tell my why I'm completely wrong and Chandni is a marvel of film-making, please feel free!