What if Madhuri done English Vinglish - Page 2

English Vinglish would have flopped badly if Madhuri has done it. Bucket List was Madhuri’s way of attempting EV and she failed miserably.

Originally posted by: ponymo

It would have probably turned out like Bucket List (watched it on Netflix), and it was totally blah!

You need to bring in that element of vulnerability and simplicity to play Shashi, which Sridevi brought it in hoardes. Madhuri is more suited to playing stronger women.

The similarities between the two films are only superficial, I think. I doubt Madhuri would have wanted to play Shashi, and it's not only a matter of being suited to play stronger women. I find the premise of EV mind-blowingly irritating. No offense to Sri, but literally everyone walks over her character in EV all the time. At the end of that film she, well, speaks English (slooowly ;)), but she still doesn't really question her stupid family members' shitty ways of humiliating her. So what, now those family members will have the double pleasure of humiliating her in English? In comparison, BL seemed lighter - Madhura's husband is a sensible guy, they love each other and are actually able to negotiate things (as married people should) - but it addressed something BW mainstream almost never addresses - a person's right to decide how she will spend the last few years of her life.

Sridevi had a lot of innocence in her face

That with her incredible acting cannot be replaced with Madhuri or any other actress

Originally posted by: dedh

The similarities between the two films are only superficial, I think. I doubt Madhuri would have wanted to play Shashi, and it's not only a matter of being suited to play stronger women. I find the premise of EV mind-blowingly irritating. No offense to Sri, but literally everyone walks over her character in EV all the time. At the end of that film she, well, speaks English (slooowly ;)), but she still doesn't really question her stupid family members' shitty ways of humiliating her. So what, now those family members will have the double pleasure of humiliating her in English? In comparison, BL seemed lighter - Madhura's husband is a sensible guy, they love each other and are actually able to negotiate things (as married people should) - but it addressed something BW mainstream almost never addresses - a person's right to decide how she will spend the last few years of her life.

No offense to Sri, but literally everyone walks over her character in EV all the time.

There are scores of women like that in every day life and unfortunately they have normalized it so much (they saw their mothers doing it too) that they don't even know what they're going through. These women were represented in Shashi.

At the end of that film she, well, speaks English (slooowly ;)), but she still doesn't really question her stupid family members' shitty ways of humiliating her. So what, now those family members will have the double pleasure of humiliating her in English

During this process, she realized she is worth more than what she perceived herself to be. She was not just an ordinary woman, she was an entrepreneur. She talks about love and respect in the climax, and her daughter tears up, and there is an expression of guilt in her husband's face. That signifies a change in attitude towards her. Sure, yeah, Shashi didn't transform herself into a very fluent English speaker, but that's not the point. The fact that she could connect herself to individuals from different countries and cultures, and was loved by them in such a short span of time boosted her morale and confidence, and it shows!

But hey, the film only chronicled 4 weeks of her life - it isn't the end of her life. Yes, her family might insult and humiliate her again, that's possible. But with her renewed spirit and confidence (she was an entrepreneur and can make friends and also get a handsome man to fall in love with her), she could walk away and restart her life -- a possibility she may never even have thought of.

Regarding Bucket Life, I didn't have problems with the subject, but how bland and insipid it was. Madhuri certainly couldn't elevate the film either. It just fell flat.

Bucket List was terrible and wayyy to absurd to even get close to the character of Madhura. It was just like any other daily soap. Add to that the weird romantic dance number with Sumit and the atrocious drunk acting at the pub. Way too dramatic. Madhuri should do more of Dedh Ishqiya. Where she is in control of her expressions. Otherwise she goes wayy too out of control with her expressions making it look like theatre.

The beauty of English Vinglish and Sridevi's performance is not in the bigger picture but in the small details that she added to the character of Shashi. Like when she is puzzled at the immigration desk in India and then finds a hindi speaking woman to talk to and happily tells her about her didi ki beti ki shaadi, her throat getting dried in the flight and she asking for paani, her drinking wine for the first time and that expression that she gives, the confused little namaste she does to the camera at the airport, the perplexed expression of being intimidated and ashamed at the cafe when the barista shouts and she says Yes like a scared kid being scolded by a teacher...there are so many nuances in that film that only Sridevi can bring in a film. Madhuri would easily miss out on those things and that frankly seperates a good actress from a great one. The body language and the little nuances. No wonder Sri's comeback was one of the most successful ones because the whole country could see their mother in Shashi and feel guilty.

Originally posted by: ponymo

No offense to Sri, but literally everyone walks over her character in EV all the time.

There are scores of women like that in every day life and unfortunately they have normalized it so much (they saw their mothers doing it too) that they don't even know what they're going through. These women were represented in Shashi.

During this process, she realized she is worth more than what she perceived herself to be. She was not just an ordinary woman, she was an entrepreneur. She talks about love and respect in the climax, and her daughter tears up, and there is an expression of guilt in her husband's face. That signifies a change in attitude towards her. Sure, yeah, Shashi didn't transform herself into a very fluent English speaker, but that's not the point. The fact that she could connect herself to individuals from different countries and cultures, and was loved by them in such a short span of time boosted her morale and confidence, and it shows!

But hey, the film only chronicled 4 weeks of her life - it isn't the end of her life. Yes, her family might insult and humiliate her again, that's possible. But with her renewed spirit and confidence (she was an entrepreneur and can make friends and also get a handsome man to fall in love with her), she could walk away and restart her life -- a possibility she may never even have thought of.

Regarding Bucket Life, I didn't have problems with the subject, but how bland and insipid it was. Madhuri certainly couldn't elevate the film either. It just fell flat.

Shouldn't Shashi give them more hope, though? Because the husband's awful attitude is never really questioned and his guilty face somehow doesn't make me optimistic about her future. While watching the film I felt the little miracle that happened for Shashi abroad (where she learned the groundbreaking lesson that not everyone perceives her as a doormat) would soon go to waste at home. And I was joking about her slow English - of course, learning it wasn't the point - but this character never really does things for herself, never transcends the meek,abuse-prone persona. Ultimately, those two characters, Shashi and Madhura, come from very different places and are written in different genres, so there's that. Shashi might find some solace in the romance possibility, but Madhura already has a decent guy and knows she deserves more, so there's no need for a ton of drama. I didn't enjoy the very concept of bucket list challenges, but I liked how the inherent problem in doing them was revealed by the dead girl's bro., and I liked what it led to for the protagonist and her husband.

It would have flopped. No ifs no buts..flop..simple..madhuri does not become her characters..she is always madhuri

even in that wedding song..sri purposely dances normal..how a woman like sashi would..madhuri would have gone into her kathak mode there too..oh look i dance so well blah blah blah..

It was pretty boring. Madhuri Could've added a little pizazz 👍🏼

This question has been asked many times on this forum.

Certain roles are meant for certain actor's. Sridevi had that innocence needed for shashi's character. There's this scene where an African women insults her in coffee shop and feels humiliated. Her expressions were bang on. She was so natural. I almost cried because I could feel for her. For me it's very rare that I connect to any character emotionally. So ya I can't imagine anyone else as Shashi.