STP Fixations | In English Vinglish, Shashi's Battle Was Never About Language

The film English Vinglish (2012) shows Shashi Godbole (Sridevi), a homemaker who can make perfect sweets but struggles with English; in that struggle, many of us see ourselves, our mothers, and the invisible mockery they face. English Vinglish is about more than English; it’s about dignity, self-worth, and the scenes that make us rethink what confidence actually means.

Her family doesn’t mean to hurt her, but their jokes, impatience, and casual comments subtly chip away at her confidence. The film captures something very real: how many people, especially women, are judged not by their abilities, but by their accent, grammar, or hesitation.

Shashi’s journey begins not because she wants praise, but because she wants dignity.

Small Moments Where the Hurt is Visible

Some of the most powerful scenes in English Vinglish are the quiet ones. Shashi, struggling to order coffee at a cafe as people laugh or lose patience, while she stands there confused and embarrassed. 

These moments hurt because they feel familiar. The pain is not in making a mistake, but in being made to feel stupid for it.

When she joins an English class, it is not dramatic or heroic; rather, it is a private decision to stop accepting disrespect.

In the classroom, she finds people like her unsure, nervous, but trying. Slowly, word by word, her confidence grows. Not because she is becoming perfect, but because she is finally being treated with kindness.

Finding Confidence

The wedding speech at the end of the film is not important because Shashi speaks English. It matters because she speaks honestly. She talks about marriage, love, and respect, and how no one should make another person feel less.

She does not accuse anyone, but everyone understands. By the time she calmly asks for an English newspaper on the flight back home, the change is clear.

She did not become something new but changed, and stopped seeing herself less. The film stays with us because it reminds us that our circumstances could change if we started treating ourselves kindly.

At the end of the film, Shashi asks for an English newspaper calmly and confidently. No fear. No hesitation. It’s a simple moment, but it shows how far she’s come. Not just in English but in believing in herself.

STP Fixations is a series dedicated to anything and everything that captures our attention - a scene, anecdote, dialogue, character or a trivial, random bizarreness. A fixation over a memory that sometimes makes sense (or sometimes doesn’t) but is stuck in our hearts and minds long after the moment is over.

Views expressed by the author are their own.