Everyone at the premiere of Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish was gifted a box of <em>laddoos</em>. Some stars (we won’t name them) were even seen secretly tucking into the yummy box. After <em>Barfi</em> it’s <em>laddoo</em>. Looks like the <em>mithai</em> business in India never had it so good. Just a few back Anurag Basu’s film <em>Barfi</em> saw an escalation in the popularity of the sweetmeat by the name. Now it’s <em>laddoos</em>.

The beautiful Sridevi is making her come back to Bollywood with English Vinglish. This Gauri Shinde-directed film deals with problems of English language that many Indians face. Sridevi plays simple house wife Shashi, who does not know the lingua franca of the world, has to go to the US for her sister’s delivery. How she grapples with the above issue and decides to overcome them by enrolling in an English speaking course is what forms the crux of this light-hearted story.

It isn’t easy interviewing Sridevi. She is reluctant to talk and shy of expressing herself beyond what is essential. It takes months of convincing her through her husband Boney Kapoor before she reluctantly agrees to talk. And guess what? She manages to say more than she ever has. <strong>What prompted you to finally do another film after 14 years?</strong> The script and the director Gauri Shinde. When I heard the script I fell in love with it. I hope it turns out well. We start shooting at the end of July. <strong>Do you need to prepare?</strong>