Hindi Medium vs. English Medium!
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Reviewer’s Thumb Mark
The film ‘Hindi Medium’ is hilarious and is a
satirical take on the Indian Psyche of feeling elitist and progressive when one
spouts English as a medium to converse irrespective of the people, situation
and need around them. Colonization under the British Empire in the 18th
and 19th centuries spread the language around the world. This led to
the use of English as a lingua franca, where people with different languages
and dialects started communicating with each other in English. Researchers also
say that there is a close link between language and power. The USA with its
huge dominance in almost all fields is the driving force behind English in the
world today.
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Though, the film doesn’t venture into what I wrote
above but it still raises many pertinent questions to analyze the reasons
behind our penchant to speak English. While watching Director Saket Chaudhary’s
‘Hindi Medium’ it reminded me of the funny dialogue of Amitabh Bachchan from ‘Namak
Halaal’ – “E lo kar lo baat. Arey aisi angrezi ave hain ke I can leave angrezi
behind. I can talk English, I can walk English, I can laugh English because
English is a funny language. Bhairon becomes barren and barren becomes Bhairon
because their minds are very narrow …” Here, in Hindi Medium Irrfan Khan brings
ample amount of humour through his dialogue delivery and acting skills. He is
well complemented by the actress Saba Qamar as his wife who is a bit more
qualified than her husband, a successful garment business man who sells in
Chandni Chowk the original copies of garments designed by leading fashion designers
in the country.
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‘Hindi Medium’ written by Zeenat Lakhani and
directed by Saket Chaudhary is a remake of the Malayalam film ‘Salt Mango Tree’
released in 2015 which is also a remake of 2014 Bengali Movie Ramdhanu. I haven’t
seen the original one but I have watched the Malayalam film ‘Salt mango Tree’
where in Biju Menon has also essayed a fantastic role as the lead protagonist
which was well appreciated. Those who have seen the Malayalam film may agree
with me that there are scenes where you cannot stop comparing Biju Menon and
Irrfan as actors not in terms of style but in terms of the effortlessness they
bring on screen in essaying such a role.
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Though, Hindi Medium as a film is successful in
keeping you engaged throughout the film with its funny situation and socially
relevant message about how our education system has succumbed to
commercialization but what needs to be noted is that when the film ventures
into portraying unrealistic situations to convey its message the tempo dips. The
couple shifting from Chandni Chowk to South Delhi’s posh residential area and from
there to a slum area all in the name of getting an admission in one of the
elitist schools in Delhi ‘Delhi Grammar School’ where Amrita Singh is the
principal becomes too difficult to fathom. Zeenat and Saket could have made
some more creative efforts to make certain scenes and dialogues more realistic
and relatable.Deepak Dobriyal as Shyam Prakash a daily wage worker
plays his role excellently. He evokes pain and empathy through his act. Tillotama
Shome as an Educational Consultant is very good.
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| Image Courtesy: indianexpress.com |
In short, Hindi Medium highlights the plight of the
education system in our country and the impacts of Lord Macaulay’s sinister
plans to destabilize India and Indianness. Though it ends being preachy and over
dramatic yet it is worth watching. But before that, go through what Lord Macaulay
said about India in 1835 in British Parliament – “I have travelled across the length and breadth of
India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth
I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such caliber,
that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the
very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage,
and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system,
her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is
good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native
self-culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation”.
.Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 3.5 /5
Cast: Irrfan Khan
(Raj Batra), Saba Qamar (Mita), Deepak Dobriyal (Shyam Prakash), Tillotama
Shome, Swati Das (Tulsi), Dishita Sehgal (Piya), Hiwale ( young Raj Batra),
Amrita Singh (School Principal), Sanjay Suri, Neha Dhupia
Genre: Comedy
Family Drama
Director:
Saket Chaudhary
Producers:
Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Dinesh Vijan
Written by:
Zeenat Lakhani
Music by:
Sachin-Jigar; Background Score by Amar Mohile
Edited by:
A. Sreekar Prasad
Production Company:
T-Series, Madddock Films
Distributor:
T-Series
Release Date:
19th May, 2017
Language:
Hindi
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