Mondo Cinema

Indian invasion: Bollywood blooms in Houston with six movies, including EnglishVinglish

The cast of English Vinglish with comeback star, Sridevi, front center
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English Vinglish movie poster
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If you want to introduce any acquaintances, or yourself, to the effervescence that is Bollywood cinema, you would do well to begin the initiation with English Vinglish (at the AMC Studio 30), first-time feature writer-director Gauri Shinde’s disarmingly charming comedy about an under-appreciated housewife and mom who elevates her self-esteem by becoming bilingual.

It’s a good deal more restrained than many other recent Bollywood offerings, so you can rest assured that you’ll experience no mood swings as vertiginous as those in Homi Adajania's intoxicating Cocktail, or maneuver through genre mash-ups as extreme as A.R. Murugadoss’ jaw-dropping, mind-frying Ghajini.

You’ll find more than a half-dozen musical numbers tossed into the mix, along with an immensely appealing leading lady – a doe-eyed charmer named Sridevi, who’ll put you in mind of a ‘60s-era Audrey Hepburn.

But if you compare it to your typical American-made rom-com – well, you’ll find almost everything here has been dialed up to 11. Better still, you’ll also find more than a half-dozen musical numbers tossed into the mix, along with an instantly and immensely appealing leading lady – a doe-eyed charmer named Sridevi, making her welcome return to the screen after a 15-year hiatus – who’ll put you in mind of a ‘60s-era Audrey Hepburn.

Sridevi plays Shashi, a thirtysomething Pune beauty who, despite her sporadic propensity to dance like Michael Jackson, is a demurely old-fashioned homebody. So old-fashioned, in fact, that she has never quite managed to master English, a failing that triggers teasing by her loving but clueless husband and their two spoiled children. Worse, no one in her family appears to fully appreciate her culinary skills – even though, kinda-sorta like Mildred Pierce, she earns a tidy sum by selling home-made sweets to friends and neighbors.

Shashi’s sense of self-worth sinks perilously close to zero when she flies to New York – her very first overseas journey – to help with preparations for her niece’s wedding, only to find she can’t even clearly communicate her request for water in a Manhattan sandwich shop. So she’s immediately receptive to an ad for a crash course at a language school that offers accelerated English lessons for students of any nationality.

The many amusing scenes at that language school often resemble snippets from an American sitcom, as Shashi interacts with ethnically diverse fellow students – including a hunky French cook (Mehdi Nebbou) who’d like to cook up a romance with her – and benefits from animated instruction by her flamboyantly gay teacher (Cory Hibbs, who’s far too ingratiating for his character to ever devolve into an offensive caricature).

More often, though, English Vinglish has the kicky flair and sprightly spirit of a typical Bollywood confection, a pleasant entertainment complete with exuberant musical interludes, an extremely chaste approach to depicting conjugal relations and extramarital temptation, and a crowd-pleasing wrap-up that allows the lead character to be all she can be while still respecting family values.

Better still, there’s a subtle but satisfying feminist flavor to the movie’s underlying theme of self-empowerment. Any woman who’s ever felt taken for granted by friends, family and/or significant others likely will find that English Vinglish speaks in universal language.

Indian invasion

English Vinglish actually is just one of four made-in-India imports now on view at the AMC Studio 30. Other titles include: Anurag Basu’s Barfi, a comedy about a charming rascal whose inability to speak or hear fails to hinder his success as a ladies’ man; Madhur Bhandarkar’s Heroine, a behind-the-scenes drama about a Bollywood superstar; and Umesh Shukla’s OMG: Oh My God, the seriocomic tale of a man who files a lawsuit against the Almighty after his shop is destroyed by an “act of God.”

But wait, there’s more: The 4^th annual Indian Film Festival of Houston wraps up this weekend with H-town premieres at the Studio Movie Grill in CityCenter. Arguably the most intriguing offering: Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai, a contemporary drama about a hit-and-run “accident” that may really be a politically motivated murder that will be shown Friday at 7 p.m. The movie — a critical and commercial hit in India —was inspired by the classic Costa-Gavras film Z, which in turn was inspired by the Vassilis Vassilikos novel of the same title.

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In Memoriam

Legendary Texas singer-songwriter Joe Ely dies at 78

Joe Ely/Facebook

Joe Ely was a major figure in Texas' progressive country scene.

Joe Ely, the legendary songwriter, singer and storyteller whose career spanned more than five decades, has died from complications related to Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and pneumonia. He was 78.

In a statement posted to his Facebook page, Ely died at his home in Taos, New Mexico, with his wife, Sharon, and daughter, Marie, at his side.

Born February 9, 1947, in Amarillo, Texas, Ely was raised in Lubbock and became a central figure among a generation of influential West Texas musicians. He later settled in Austin, helping shape the city’s reputation as a hub for live music.

As with many local legends, it's hard to tease out what specifically made Ely's time in Austin so great; Austin treasures its live music staples, so being around and staying authentic from the early days is often the most important thing an artist can do.

Ely got his local start at One Knight Tavern, which later became Stubb's BBQ — the artist and the famous venue share a hometown of Lubbock. He alternated nights with emerging guitar great Stevie Ray Vaughn. He built his own recording studio in Dripping Springs, and kept close relationships with other Texas musicians. Later in his career, Ely brought fans into the live music experience, publishing excerpts from his journal and musings on the road in Bonfire of Roadmaps (2010), and was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame in 2022. Austin blues icon Marcia Ball was among Ely's friends who played the induction show.

"Joe Ely performed American roots music with the fervor of a true believer who knew music could transport souls," said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

In the 1970s, Ely signed with MCA Records, launching a career that included decades of recording and touring around the world. His work and performances left a lasting impact on the music scene and influenced a wide range of artists, including the Clash and Bruce Springsteen, according to Rolling Stone.

"His distinctive musical style could only have emerged from Texas, with its southwestern blend of honky-tonk, rock & roll, roadhouse blues, western swing, and conjunto. He began his career in the Flatlanders, with fellow Lubbock natives Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, and he would mix their songs with his through 50 years of critically acclaimed recordings. [...]"

Read the full story at KVUE.com. CultureMap has added two paragraphs of context about the Austin portion of Ely's career.

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