Sridevi was one of the few actresses who, during her heydays, could demand & carry the entire script to revolve around her. It was wonderful to see Sridevi back on the big screen with such a role. Before seeing the film there was a doubt whether she chose to slip into a typical Maa / Saas role to some young hero / heroine but not only were all such doubts gone by the time the film ended but also it left me wondering whether any other contemporary actress could have done any better than Sridevi’s portrayal of varied emtions for this film.
The film revolves around a lady whose role is seen in the family as a homemaker caring for her husband & kids to the extent that her culinary skills are also seen as a distraction to her existence as a homemaker with the husband & elder child considering her lack of English as a major embarrassment. An accidental sighting of an advertisement on a bus in New York, where Sridevi goes to attend her niece’s wedding, brings in the transformation to her life not just in learning English, which is incidental to her life, but into her gaining self respect.
There are some very realistic emotions on display – the scene where Sridevi goes to a café alone & runs out of it after being bombarded with a volley of KBC questions from the rude waitress & the different emotions that dwell in Sridevi for the next 5 minutes when the wedding day Laddoos drop to the ground because of her kids prank on the day of her English exam being the best. The character of the younger kid & the French guy is especially endearing & the chemistry between the French guy & Sridevi has been captured well especially the end scene when she thanks him for making her like herself.
The film could have done with less of some stereotyping like a weird looking African or silly jokes on a Spanish & Korean (or was she Chinese?) woman or Amitabh’s (special appearance) ranting against Americans, their economic crisis & giving it back to them but overall it is a sweet & short film which has ofcourse benefited from the presence of Sridevi..