I enjoyed most of this film. I'm currently living in Delhi and learning Hindi so loved seeing the opposite struggle. The issue I had with this film is a cultural one. India has an obsessional with 'west is best' which has it's good and bad points. However, this film focused mainly on the bad points. It chose to show the glam of NYC, designer labels, cafe culture etc but dismissed the possibility of escaping a clearly dysfunctional marriage. The fact that Shashi was treated as a slave by her family did not change when she told her husband she still loved him. I appreciate that their marriage might have improved but he didn't. This film reflects the fact that modern India still has a long way to go in gender equality. I can imagine that the film would not have been quite the success it has been if she had run off to Paris to setup a restaurant with Laurent but it might have encouraged a wider audience globally. Btw. I'm a straight guy and I'm on the woman's side here!
Review of English Vinglish
