Movie Review: “Hindi Medium”

The movie is a myth buster for the present generation of elite-minded parents who think studying in an English medium school can promise a quality life for their children. 

The story revolves around the life of a couple Meeta and Raj Batra and their daughter. Raj is a rich cloth merchant from Chandni Chowk and Meeta is a housewife, and they are struggling to get their daughter admitted to an English medium school. Though the couple was not fortunate enough to have studied in an English medium school, they do not want to compromise for their daughter. Hence, they try all possible ways to secure admission for their child. The story is a perfect amalgamation of laughter, satire and is close to reality which every parent can relate to. 

The movie was a blockbuster that sent the cash registers ringing. It was made at a budget of Rs 14 crores and ended up earning Rs 300+ crores and innumerable hearts.

The film depicts how a certain group of people in our society are considered superior based on their fluency in the English language and the ones who cannot speak fluently are looked down upon.   

It has an engrossing storyline, good comic timing, and excellent acting by Saba Qamar, Deepak Dobriyal, and Sanjana Sanghi. Deepak Dobriyal steals your heart, Saba Qamar in her debut Hindi movie acts very naturally but it is Irrfan Khan who is the true Super Star.

The family is a happy-go-lucky one, and they are living their life to the fullest. All goes well until the situation arrives when they want their child to secure a seat in an English medium school. For the sake of their daughter's future, the family moves to a plush locality called Vasant Vihar where the elite people of Delhi live. The competition is so intense that even a consulting firm specializing in securing seats in elite schools could not help them get one. The consultant played by Tilottoma Shome advises them to play the part of a poor family since, as per the Right to Education Act, some percentage of seats are reserved for poor people. For this, the family then shifts to a slum (Basti) temporarily informing their neighbours that they are going to Paris. They visit a photo studio to click pictures with Parisienne scenes in the background to post them on social networking sites to convince their neighbours. The film brings you close to reality and looks very different from all those movies you see these days.
 
The film is one to which every Indian parent can relate. Hats off to the entire cast and crew for shedding light upon the dismal fact that education, a basic need and right of every child, has been turned into a lucrative form of business. "Hindi Medium" delineates what parents go through when they cannot offer the kind of education they desire to their children. It lays bare the dearth of basic facilities in public schools in India and the dire need to improve their infrastructure, learning equipment, hygiene, and quality of teachers.
 
If you haven’t seen the film yet, here’s your chance to watch it. It’s available on Amazon Prime. The story will remain etched on your mind.