English Vinglish: Sridevi plays an insecure woman

New Delhi: Actress Sridevi's comeback film 'English Vinglish' was written with only her in mind, says producer R. Balki, whose wife Gauri Shinde has directed the movie.

"'English Vinglish' is a very special film for me because it marks the comeback of Sridevi, possibly one of the greatest performers. It was written and discussed keeping Sridevi in mind," Balki told IANS.

Sridevi scorched the silver screen with films like 'Sadma', 'Chandni', 'Chaalbaaz', 'Mr.India' and 'Lamhe'. Her last movie was 'Judaai', released in 1997.

Here are a few lesser known facts about Anil Kapoor, Sridevi and Amrish Puri starrer 'Mr. India'.
Many reports claim that Anil Kapoor wasn't the first choice for the role of Arun verma in 'Mr.India'.
As sources claim, the role was written keeping Amitabh Bachchan in mind, but Big B denied the film.
Director Shekhar Kapur also considered Anupam Kher for the role of Mogambo.
However, he settled for Amrish Puri later. Undoubtedly Puri gave his best to the film.
In one of the scenes, lead actress Sridevi is seen shouting after she spots a cockroach in the house.
Director Shekhar Kapur wanted to take a close up shot of the cockroach for the same.
So, Shekhar surrounded a cockroach with a pool of rum. Soon, the cocroach was seen lolling around like a drunken sailor.
Thanks to 'Mr.India' success, Amrish Puri was offered many similar roles later.
Poet and lyricist Kaifi Azmi's son and Shabana Azmi's brother, Baba Azmi was the cinematographer of the film.
The little girl Tina dies in a bomb blast in the film.
People still ask Shekhar Kapur that why he killed Tina in the film.
Kapur says that by Tina's death he tried to increase the emotional involvement of the audience. This made 'Mr. India' a little more believable.
Shooting Tina's funeral scene was also not an easy task.
Every time someone tried to lay a flower over Tina she would start laughing. When everything failed to stop her from laughing, the director asked Tina's mother to put her to sleep.
Finally, the scene was shot while Tina was sleeping.
Surprisingly, Sridevi and many other child actors were actually in tears to see Tiny in that tiny coffin.
Shekhar Kapur says that it wasn't easy convincing Amrish Puri for the role.
It was only producer Boney Kapoor's charm that Amrish Puri agreed to do the film.
When Puri asked Kapur about how to play the character, Kapur said, "Imagine you are playing Shakespeare to 9 year old kids that have no idea who he was. Imagine you have to make it feel mythic and entertaining."
Now, 'Mr.India' is being converted in to 3D. The film will be re-released in 2014.
A sequel to 'Mr.India' is also being planned.
Anil Kapoor and Sridevi are expected to play the lead roles in the sequel too.
'Mr. India' was released on May 25, 1987.
Many reports claim that Salman Khan will play a negative role in the sequel.

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English Vinglish: Sridevi plays an insecure woman

In \'English Vinglish\', Sridevi plays a woman who struggles to speak fluent English.

In 'English Vinglish', Sridevi plays a woman who struggles to speak in English.

"She plays a simple woman who struggles with English language. In India, there is a major problem - either you need money, or you need fame or you need to talk in English to be considered a part of the upper class."

"There is a lot of struggle and lot of people in the country who are insecure because they don't know English. The film tackles that," said Balki, an adman-turned-filmmaker, who earlier directed critically acclaimed movies like 'Cheeni Kum' and 'Paa'.

However, his wife Gauri, who has wielded the megaphone for 'English Vinglish', didn't turn to him for any filmmaking tips.

"The last person she will take tips would be from me. My wife is very independent. I would rather take tips from her. She is very independent minded, she has her own sensibility and it works for her," he said.