Angrezi Medium Irrfan Shows Us Why He Matters

There is  a  memorable sequence at the start  of  the  trailer  of Angrezi Medium—apparently, a  knock-out slice of life comedy—where the  much-missed  Irrfan, playing a  doting  father  to Radhika Madan,  goes up  to the stage to thank  her teachers. He stumbles with the  English, and then  like  a car  that won’t  start, he  simply gives  up and throws his hands in the air.

It’s  a routine Pappa-going-bananas  scene  elevated by an actor who knows just when to  let  go and  where  to brake. Irrfan brings alive the trailer of Angrezi Medium as only he  can. Luckily there’s so much  more  to it than meets the eye.More than anyone else,  there is Kareena  Kapoorplaying  what looks  like a Pakistani cop in London.No matter what she plays  –it was  a woman trying  to get  pregnant last—she looks  like what she is. A  diva. 

But be warned.There is  little of Kareena  in the trailer. They are probably saving her up for later.

Though  Angrezi Medium is  not directed by  the director  of  Hindi Medium,  the transition is seamless.And we see all the fabulously-written characters  from the  first part,including  the  incomparable Deepak Dobriyal being  butt-frisked  at  Heathrow, making  the  kind  of noises  one sometimes hears when  a  severely constipated   person is  in  the  bathroom.

What is  it all about this time? Oh , Irrfan wants to send  his daughter to  England for further studies.

“If you want  to leave home , get away from me, can’t you wait until  you are at least 18? It took  India 200 years  to get  freedom from  the British,”  is Irrfan’s poker-faced response.

 Yup, the writing is  razor-sharp and  the  performances seem  uniformly  bang-on.  This is one  sequel that looks as  watchable  as  the  first film. Ussko kya  kehte hain angrezi mein? A  sureshot.

Trailer rating: ****(4 stars, * for Irrfan)