English Vinglish & My love for Food!

We saw the delightful English Vinglish yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Sridevi's Shashi Godbole and her English class is a fantastic tale with the moral that no odd is bigger than your will! The movie was worth every penny and the best part is that it is 100% family viewing affair.

That said, I loved the supporting star cast of the movie - most of them, Mehdi Nebbou, the silent Frenchman whose yearning for Shashi starts growing on you, the viewer.

Now there is a fine discussion between Shashi and Laurent where they say something of this sort:

Laurent: Food is art.
Shashi: When a man cooks, it is art. When a woman cooks, it is her work / duty.
Laurent: No no no... you cook, you make other people happy. This is worship. This is art. Prayer.

It is better viewed on the screen than me describing it here. It is a fine discussion on how we all should view the person cooking for us - your mother, your wife, the cook, the vada pav waala....whoever. I have never heard a more intelligent discussion on food in Hindi cinema.

I am absolutely loving the way Indian cinema is moving. English Vinglish is another example of this sophistication that is coming our way.

Barfi!++ : Loving where Indian cinema is going!

Having seen Barfi! and being completely charmed by the lovely fairy tale of Barfi, Jhilmil and Shruti, I refuse to fall into the debate whether this should have gone to Oscars or not.

For me and for us Indians, I do not think it should matter. What should matter is where our cinema is going! After the rubbish we saw coming in the 1980s, some limited risk taking in the 1990s, some more boldness is portraying stories in the 2000s, we have now reached a wonderful point where some excellent movies are being produced.

I have written this earlier too, Hindi cinema is undergoing a wonderful transformation that needs to be appreciated, applauded and encouraged.

Now Barfi! may have picked up some scenes, but the way the story is told, the cinematography, the music and the actors, they all show what can be achieved. The audience is entranced by this team. And this has been happening at a very good frequency. In fact that is what is making us spend reasonable sums at the movie halls.

In general, this bodes well for Hindi cinema viewers.

Now the point of Oscars, sure they should award an original movie over one which may have redone some scenes. But the way movies are made today, we need not worry too much.

Before you go, here enjoy this lovely lovely song from Barfi!