Angrezi Medium
Cast: Irrfan, Radhika Madan, Deepak Dobriyal, Pankaj Tripathi, Kareena Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Kiku Sharda, Ranvir Shorey
Director: Homi Adajania
A father and daughter’s journey to a new stage in their lives, hats off to old family ties that keep people together in times of need, and dollops of humor doled out scene after scene – what’s not to like about Angrezi Medium? The film takes a fresh approach to a family drama, building on the larger theme of parent-child relationship, coming of age and the accompanying youthful rebellion and so on, all in the light-hearted style that is the new norm of Hindi cinema.
What started as something to think about in Hindi Medium – the obsession Indian parents have with teaching their children English – has now developed naturally in Angrezi Medium. In this outing, a devoted single father (Irrfan as Champak Bansal) goes to great lengths to send the apple of his eye, his daughter Tarika (Radhika Madan), to graduate from a university in London, because that is what she has set her heart on. on.
Just like the previous edition, this one is also a decent obstacle race full of humor and of course some moving moments. Young Tarika is determined to get a scholarship to a university in London to get away from her home in Udaipur to be cool and have a taste of coveted adult freedom. However, in an unexpected turn of events, her father innocently spoils her chances and then tries to get her into college with a hook or a crook.
There are multiple directions the film could have gone in – but the writers – Bhavesh Mandalia, Gaurav Shukla, Sara Bodinar and Vinay Chhawall, narrow it down to an emotional father-daughter story that touches you deeply without being overly preachy. Sure, there are some spicy emotional scenes that may seem contrived, but nothing that you mind overly. Director Homi Adajania, known for more urban films like Finding Fanny, Cocktail or Being Cyrus, navigates this emotional rollercoaster of a small town, well, with the aim of pleasing the small town audience.
Adajania along with producers Dinesh Vijan and Jio Studios not only retains most of the acting cast of Hindi Medium-Irrfan, Deepak Dobriyal, Tillotama Shome but also brings in some notable additions namely Kareena Kapoor Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Ranveer Shorey and Radhika Madan. In addition to the humor quotient, there are Pankaj Tripathi and Kiku Sharda, although their screen time is too short to have a significant impact on the story.
Irrfan, who, despite a difficult phase of illness just before the shooting of the film started, puts in a great performance, absolutely convincing as the doting father, afraid to let his little one go. His seamless emotion and the sensitivity he brings to the role really take the film to the next level. Deepak Dobriyal as his younger sibling and Radhika Madan as Tarika are excellent and the chemistry between the trio is crazy. Dobriyal is delightful and Madan, a relative newcomer compared to the veterans she’s up against, is confident and cute as the spoiled daughter, infusing just the right amount of teenage angst.
Currently, movies with humorous details from the middle class are the new favorites in the tent and given the comedic and emotional twists and turns, Angrezi Medium is quite the family drama that is worth watching with your parents.
Rating: 3.5/5
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