It Is  Both My Cross To Bear  & Jewel  To Wear,” Gauri Shinde On 12 Years  Of English Vinglish

It’s been 12 years  of  your English Vinglish, a life-changing experience?

Gosh, is it really twelve years of English Vinglish?When the film turned 10, there  was a special screening at PVR .It was  then that I realized  how  relevant the  film still remains. I still remember being at the Toronto Film Festival  with Sridevi. We sat holding hands at the screening wondering what was in store.To this day women and men come  to me  to tell me how English Vinglish impacted  their lives. Men tell me they  give more respect  to their mothers and wives after watching the  film.

Do  you feel cinema should be a tool to change  lives?

I believe if a film can change  even  one life, it has achieved its target. But here’s a film that has  influenced  so many lives. I feel blessed. But at the same time there is the fear that everything I make will be compared  unfavourably with English Vinglish.It is a cross to bear and a jewel to wear.

What  was Sridevi’s response  when you  first narrated the film to her?

After  two lines she said yes. ‘Gauri,  I don’t care whether you want to  do this film or not. But I am doing  it.’ This was a big deal for  both of us. I was directing for the  first time and she was doing a film after fifteen  years.It had to be  just right. Luckily for us both,everything fell into place.

You and Sridevi became really close friends?

We  really bonded. Do you know, this was the first time that she was working with a female director! Can you imagine, in  fifty years  of her career she had never worked with  a woman director before me. Sridevi spoilt me  as a  director.She was  such a flawless actor and so dedicated , I wondered how  I would  work with any  other actor. I was  planning to work with her in another film. But God had other plans.