What Is Hindi Medium All About?
Hindi Medium: “In our country English is not a language, it’s a class” – this dialogue from the film forms the basis of the plot. Government school educated but well to do parents Irrfan Khan and Saba Qamar are desperate to get their daughter admitted in a fancy Delhi school. Their pockets are big but their English is poor and in today’s world this is no less than a crime. Heart broken with one rejection after another, they take a drastic (and very dramatic) step to secure the admission.
The film is a satire on the present educational system and has highlighted all the ridiculous elements very well. The long queues for collecting admission forms, preparatory classes for the admission test, mock interviews for parents, resourceful agents, and a variety of mushrooming consultants who advise parents on anything and everything that can impact their chances at the school – these are things most parents living in metros can relate with.
Captivating & Weak Moments In Hindi Medium
The film starts great and has enough gags, however, in the second half, the tone of the film changes. It becomes a little serious and drags at places. The end is predictable and doesn’t give you a high that the Director might have tried for. There are some moments that are very realistic (especially where Deepak Dobriyal gets hurt, and some scenes from the slums) and some that I found too hard to digest. There definitely are more than a few loopholes as well that take away the intended impact from the overall experience.
Hindi Medium Performances/Acting
Irrfan Khan is outstanding and Saba Qamar has complimented him well. Deepak Dobriyal is very good at some places too, but his performance is nowhere close to Pappiji in Tanu Weds Manu. Amrita Singh is totally wasted in Hindi Medium. I was so excited to see her again after her superb performance in 2 States but she’s under utilized. The only thing that works and boy! how fabulously it works for the film is Irrfan Khan. His simple and earnest character is so realistic that it’s hard not to fall in love with him. He also has some great dialogues that he delivered perfectly. His speech at the end had something missing and didn’t click as much as it should have but full marks to his performance.
Final Verdict
Overall it’s an average watch but because Irrfan Khan is so damn awesome it’s a must watch for members of his fan club! Hindi Medium gets 7 out of 10.
The World of Movies Rating: 7/10
Movie Title: Hindi Medium
Directed By: Saket Chaudhary
Written By: Sonu Sinha, Saket Chaudhary, Amitosh Nagpal, Zeenat Lakhani …
Year of Release: 2017
Country of Origin: India (Bollywood)
Languages: Hindi (North Indian Khadi Boli dialect)
Running Time: 132 minutes
Production Company: Maddock Films
Distributed by: Asia TV, Bollywood Europa, Amazon Prime Video, Hua Wen Movie Group
Image source: Hindi Medium Official Facebook Page
Reviewed by: Aparna Kunal Jain