English Vinglish is a 2012 Indian comedy-drama film, written and directed by Gauri Shinde. The narrative revolves around a woman named Shashi, a small entrepreneur who makes snacks. 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. The protagonist, played by Sridevi, was inspired by Shinde’s mother. English Vinglish was originally made in Hindi; later it was partially re-shot in Tamil and released along with a Telugu dubbed version on 5 October 2012. The film marked Sridevi’s return to filmmaking after a 15-year hiatus; it features Adil Hussain, French actor Mehdi Nebbou, and Priya Anand. Amitabh Bachchan and Ajith Kumar had cameo appearances in the Hindi and Tamil versions respectively.English Vinglish premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received a five minute standing ovation Before its release, the film was screened for the Indian press and critics. The film received widespread critical acclaim with reviewers praising Shinde’s screenplay and direction, Sridevi’s performance as well as the film’s soundtrack and cinematography. It became a major financial success as well, grossing ₹91.42 crore against a budget of ₹10 crore.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 in India”.
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