Hindi Medium Review: A once in a lifetime cinematic experience

Movie : Hindi Medium

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Saba Qamar, Deepak Dobriyal, Dishita Sehgal, Amrita Singh

Director: Saket Choudhary

Producer: Dinesh Vijan

Hindi Medium touches upon a very sensitive yet relevant topic of the class divide between the English and Hindi speaking population of India. It displays the crude reality that we live in a world where we are made to believe that fluency in English is the key to success, and not being able to know the language is a road to a life of never-ending struggle.

This story features Irrfan Khan and Saba Qamar as the Chandni Chowk-based couple, Raj and Mita Batra, whose sole aim is to get their daughter Piya Batra (played by Dishita Sehgal) to join the so-called classes and believe that admitting her to an English Medium school is the only way. The couple, for the sake of their child, attempts to adapt to the lifestyles the so-called elite people of Delhi. When that doesn’t work out, the couple attempts to live with the slum dwellers of the city. (We’re talking about the kind of people who live on hourly wages and survive on the supply provided by state-owned ration stores) It is here that they encounter and begin to build a rapport with one of the locals, Deepak Dobriyal. As you can guess, they go through a multitude of hardships to secure a good future for Piya.

Here’s what the whole of the film entails. Now, let’s talk about what we liked in the film!

To be honest, there is practically NOTHING that we disliked. The whole story has been artfully crafted and great attention has been paid to details. It was rather difficult to come across any loopholes. Irrfan Khan yet again delivers a world class performance with his patented comic timing which perfectly fit the situation. Saba Qamar has been an absolute delight as the over-the-top protective mother that she has played. Also, her little princess, Piya (Dishita Sehgal) is someone who never failed to make us go ‘Awwww’ at all times. Her performance is too good to be able to put into words.

Apart from that, we liked how each and every societal practice, whether good or otherwise, has been touched upon in a subtle manner. There is a political element, a group of primary school children who have been trained in three languages. During the film, you are bound to tell yourself at one point or the other “Hey, I’ve been there!”

Deepak Dobriyal, on the other hand, is someone that we thank from the bottom of our hearts to take up this film. Mr Dobriyal, you made us laugh and you made us cry, but you made that transition from one emotion to other a very pleasing experience.

Our Verdict: This is the kind of satirical film that you simply cannot miss. One doesn’t get to witness masterpieces such as Hindi Medium every now and then.

Our Rating: 4/5 Stars