When Sridevi spoke ‘English Vinglish’, and returned on the big screen in an epic way!

If we take a closer look at the decade gone by, many capable actresses of the 90s’ tried to make a comeback. Be it Madhuri Dixit Nene in ‘Aaja Nachle’, Karisma Kapoor in ‘Dangerous Ishhq’ or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in ‘Jazbaa’, they all tried to make it big on the screens, once again. Some of the endeavours were successful, some were not, but all were critically acclaimed, more or less. One more thing that was common amongst all these movies was the fact that they all had plots that revolved around the female protagonists. And when we are talking of successful comebacks, we cannot forget Sridevi’s epic return to our screens with Gauri Shinde’s ‘English Vinglish’, which hit the screens on this day, October 5, in the year 2012. Sridevi returned to our screens after 15 long years.

‘English Vinglish’ saw Sridevi in the role of a small-scale entrepreneur Shashi, who did not get respect in her home due to her inability to speak English. The character was inspired by Gauri Shinde’s mother, whom the director did not respect, and this movie was her way of apologising to her.

Throughout the movie, as kids to loving mothers, we feel the plight of Sridevi’s character Shashi, and feel for our mothers as well. There is no over the top emotional drama to enhance the situations. Instead, the natural act put up by Sridevi, and a talented ensemble cast including Adil Hussain, Priya Anand, Mehdi Nebbou, Navika Kotia, Sulabha Deshpande, and many more, breathes life into this beautiful and relatable tale, making it a perfect comeback for a performer who was missed for long. Sridevi could not have got a more honest comeback, and the credit goes to Gauri Shinde who brought this tale to us in her debut directorial venture, and extracted the performance of a lifetime from a powerful actress making her comeback.

The film even had a special appearance by Amitabh Bachchan as Sridevi’s co-passenger in a flight sequence. A trivia here. The two stars were seen together on screen after 20 years, as they were last seen opposite each other in the 1992 movie ‘Khuda Gawah’.

Well, we will forever remember the date of October 5 as the one which gave us one of the most powerful female actors back, in a beautiful character. We will always remember Shashi, and her ‘English Vinglish’ escapades.

Amod Pandit

Quiet, resonant, and creative, he can be seen immersed in his own world, and puts in his heart and soul into the one passion that he has, Bollywood. His line for survival? Feel happy to be a part of it.