Latest / Breakdown Besties | Bollywood Screenwriting Podcast / E11: English Vinglish Breakdown
Transcript
- Breakdown Besties Podcast: again bestie. In film we saw a phenomenal performance by Sridevi. And for week we're breaking down another where the lead has given again a phenomenal performance. ⁓ For next we're breaking down Paan Singh Tomar which has Irfan Khan the lead. So yeah, check it out and watch it before our episode comes out and break it down along with us. See you. Ananya: Do you just want to go into character creation next? Akshay: Yeah, let's do that. Ananya: Cool. So in terms of character creation-- at one point what we're going to do is we're going to do an Instagram post where we show people the preparation that goes into... Like we don't this shit. ⁓ Akshay: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, even my notes page is like so long, constantly scrolling or this point is like, has it been told or not told? Ananya: we do today's episode in Hindi? Okay Akshay: Hindi Vindi Ananya: Exactly. Exactly. So I wanted to talk about Sridevi's character and right, in the first 10 minutes itself, they have used a bazillion techniques for us to empathize with the character, for us to like her. Now, what are those techniques? One, she is the underdog who is serving everyone and is not appreciated. She's serving her husband, she's serving chai to her mother-in-law, no one appreciates her. Akshay: Of course. Huh. Ananya: Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of the Breakdown Besties podcast. I'm Ananya. The technique here is that she's the underdog character. Akshay: I'm Akshay. yeah not just not being appreciated she can't have her chai like she has no time and nobody understands her that ⁓ she made the tea for herself the first but she's not even able to have one sip of it so like yeah Ananya: And we are your Breakdown Besties. Together we have 14 years of experience writing for platforms like Amazon, Netflix, Disney +, having written on shows like Inside Edge, Mismatched, Wedding.con, Grahan, Rana Naidu, Ishq in the Air and a host of others that have gotten stuck in development hell but will see the light of day one day. With the Breakdown Besties podcast, our goal is to give you a comprehensive film school experience. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah, one level below underdog. In fact, she's self-sacrificing. Right? Then she wants to improve, like when they correct her that your pronunciation, it's not jhazz, it's jazz. Later you see her when her family are not around, like practicing jazz, jazz. And she also wants other people to improve. Akshay: Yah, yah. Ananya: We're breaking down the techniques that are used on the page that makes the film work on the screen. We're doing this because we never got to go to film school and we decided it's high time we educate ourselves the way it's done by the professionals. And we hope you'll come along for the ride and enjoy it too. Right. So the movie we are going to be breaking down today is English Vinglish. Woohoo! When one of the workers pronounces gift wrong, she doesn't make fun of them. She nicely says that, no, it's gift. So she looks at other people with kind eyes and we like characters like that. Right? She's enterprising. She runs her own business. We like that about her. She... Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. That what it also does is this what it also does is that it does not put an extreme lens of pity on her. Like if she had nothing to do it again, it becomes a boring screen like a boring screen character that ⁓ she's doing nothing in her life, you know, and sure that could be many people in real life, but your screen characters need to be one level more than that. So she has a fuller life and that's what is interesting. Ananya: Yeah. Definitely, yeah, she wants more for herself and we like characters who like aspire, who build, who want more, right? Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: She's not regressive, which is important. Like when her son tells her that, out with boys and she's wearing a skirt. It's like, ⁓ is it? She's very playful about it. She's playful. She has a little Michael Jackson jig with her kid and she pokes fun at things. So she doesn't take life that seriously. ⁓ She also is not ⁓ scared calling a spade a spade and vocalizing her ⁓ views. Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: ⁓ So English Vinglish is the story of a who doesn't know English and her quest of learning English and ⁓ discovering she's so much more than just her abilities and capabilities speaking in another language and doing what she ⁓ is her day to day tasks at home. Right. So as we do, we always start with a film by going into the log line. So let's do it. So Akshay: Yeah. Hmm. Ananya: Like she tells her husband that agar main khaana nahi banati to tum ghar hi nahi aate. So while she says it politely, respectfully, she doesn't let herself, she at least tries to ensure that she's not walked over. Trying is important. Whether you succeed or not is a different story. Akshay: ⁓ Yeah, Yeah. Ananya: First, what is the log line? The log line is the premise of your film summarized in one line. It is your guiding light and when you get lost writing your screenplay, example, I can't see the forest for the trees, it's your log line that's going to help you and give you direction. It's going to get you out. It's your compass. It's your light. Why does it work in this particular manner, your log line? Because it has four essential elements. these were the techniques I spoke. Akshay: Does the cool scene also come in the first 10 minutes only? Because I feel like again, like it speaks so much of a character that it's like when you have a film which is so character Ananya: And these four elements give us four things which are necessary to create a compelling story. Right? They are your conflict, your flaw or your wound limitation or block, however you want to call it, your goal and your stakes. Right? So start with the flaw. The flaw is something that is inherently wrong with the character or a limitation that they face or a block that they have. They have to overcome this throughout the course of the film. Akshay: centric and you know like the problem of this character is this one problem if this gets solved everything gets solved essentially so what what they try and do is that you show as many aspects of their personality possible so that that one flaw is highlighted the most so so when she goes to school and meets the ⁓ professor you know that she's a great conversationalist like she can make friends immediately Ananya: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. in order to achieve their goal, which is the second element. The goal is what they're going after through the film. It's the journey which they're on to pursue that and we're going along this journey with them. Now this journey can't be all that easy, right? So we have the next element, which is conflict. Conflict is something that is tackling the hero's need or a need is the wound of the block. So every time the hero has to grow, Akshay: So her extroversion is not a problem. And even though the fact that she communicated that, can we talk in Hindi? She is trying to be on the same level as people, but the problem becomes her daughter later on. So what I really liked about that, they didn't make her under confident in every situation possible. Like the moment she can talk to him nicely, she almost made a friend and... Ananya: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. The conflict comes and says, first you have to deal with me and only once you overcome me can we grow. And then we have the final element which is stakes. Stakes are what your hero stands to lose should they not achieve their goal. It is not simply not achieving their goal. It is taking them a level lower than where they already are should they not achieve it. Something more is at stake. Akshay: father Vincent you know and I thought it was a great great skill but again overlooked by her daughter immediately and she's again like made to feel less Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Like what, like it's when her mom says, when her daughter says, do you even know what PTA stands for? And she's like, no, but I know what "parent" stands for. So she's not going to let her shortcoming come in the way of her daughter's education or her daughter's life. So she has her priorities set that while I'm ashamed, I'm still willing to make a fool of myself in her school because this is for my daughter. Akshay: Huh. Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: That being said, I think let's break down the English to English logline and see how this meets all four elements or even if it does. Right? Okay. ⁓ I'll tell you what I have and you can tell me if it's right, wrong, When a disrespected housewife goes to New York City, she decides to learn English on the sly to finally feel worthy. Akshay: Yeah. But yeah, yeah, yeah. Ananya: like we've made Sridevi's character very likeable, I want to talk about her husband's character and how they've immediately made him unlikable. Like all the techniques you can use to create a good antagonist, ⁓ ⁓ Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Yeah. ⁓ Yeah, perfect. Simple, huh? Ananya: So I'll break down the elements and again this logline like I think we've discussed in Chakde and we've discussed in Paa, there are no stakes to this logline which means that should she not succeed in her goal of learning English her status can't be lowered any further. She stays where she's at, right? So, okay. Akshay: Yeah! Yeah. Ananya: Like his wife calls him and says that everyone loved my laddoos today and he's dismissive of her. He's like ⁓ I'm in the middle of work I've got more important things. So he's patronizing, he's dismissive. We don't like people who are like that. He tells her to stop her business that her food is just for him. That's regressive. We don't like regressive characters. Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: The first element is disrespected, in "disrespected housewife." That is her limitation, I guess, or her block. It is... ⁓ Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: Then, Sridevi is having a moment where she is insecure. Where she is like, why did you marry me? Why didn't you marry some modern woman? And any human with like two brain cells to rub together would know that this person is insecure and I need to give them reassurance. And he's like, bro, I didn't think so much before marrying you. I'm like, what? Akshay: Yeah, all the characters flaw like not not in screenwriting terms flaw like not her actual flaw as a person. Ananya: Exactly, yeah. That's why it's a limitation or a block vis-a-vis something that stems from her inherently. Right? She decides to learn English to finally feel worthy. That is the goal. Learning English to feel worthy. And on the sly, which means she's doing it while hiding from other people, that is the conflict. Right? ⁓ there no stakes in this film. Akshay: Because if i would have then i wouldn't have married you ⁓ Yeah. Hmm... Go ahead. Ananya: And then he punches down at his own mother where he says that ⁓ you can't even come to America if you were fine because you don't even have a passport. And she's like, you need a passport to travel abroad. He's like, haha, yeah, you silly woman. Like, what ⁓ fuck? So those are some points on how to make a ⁓ character who's unlikable, essentially. Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Ananya: So this is the logline. Akshay: haha Again, the stakes just like in, ⁓ I don't know, those other movies like say Chakde, sure, she won't feel ⁓ lower than what she right now, but she'll continue to be that way. ⁓ And ⁓ I think change life, she'll never be able to achieve, ⁓ she'll never be able find respect from her family. Yeah. Yeah, Ananya: I also wanted to point out a change in character technique, where we've spoken about this before, is where you put one character ⁓ in the same at two different points in their journey, and how their reaction in different points in the journey changes to show that they have grown or regressed as a person, that they have changed as a person, right? So this is very well demonstrated in the scene. Akshay: So again, very low stakes for like, there's no stake as such in screenwriting terms, but like that's the nuance of the logline of this one at least. Ananya: Yeah, I think the logline, I mean the stakes build again Shri Devi's character Shashi, she also starts getting recognition. They call her an entrepreneur. She starts finding respect that cooking is an art and she starts finding a sense of self-confidence and worthiness. ⁓ where at first she's at the dinner table in the States and they're talking about quesadillas dowry ⁓ and conversation switches to English and she's very uncomfortable. She's awkward and she leaves the room. She's like I'm going and later ⁓ about little more than halfway through the film. Once her English classes have kicked in, she's a little more confident. We have a similar scene where again the boyfriend is over. Their talking switches to English. They say something about gold and dowry ⁓ and all laughing and joking at this time she doesn't leave. Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Hmm. Ananya: So again that builds and that's what she stands to lose. But she has to gain it first to realise that this is something that she is going to lose. So stakes building through the film, vis-a-vis they being established right off the bat. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Yeah, yeah. Ananya: She doesn't speak, she doesn't join in the conversation but she has a slight smile on her face and she's like, I'm part of this, I'm getting this. So that is character change in confidence. Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Ananya: And I want to talk about character Where, how they've used the same line of dialogue, almost, to tell you which character you like and which character you dislike. So, with her husband's character, he says, tumhare haat ka khaana sirf mere liye hai or something to that extent, I only want to eat your food. Akshay: Hmm. Cool. Huh. Hmm. Ananya: And he also says, ⁓ my wife is just made to like, is born to make laddus and he calls it boring work. Vis-a-vis, then you have Laurent's character and he says that ⁓ laddus are art. Like making food is art. And he even says, and then Sridevi says that, if a man does it, it's art. If a woman does it, it's duty. He goes on to say, it's not duty, it's love. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Yeah. Hmm. Hmm. It's odd. Don't do tea. Hmm. Ananya: So it's the same, it's two opposite sentiments by two different characters on the same subject, helps you differentiate essentially different people having different opinions to love and like and dislike the characters. Akshay: No. No. Hmm. Yeah, yeah. Hmm. Ananya: This is what I had on character. Akshay: I have one character note but I think I'm going to use it in genre tropes. ⁓ Ananya: Okay, let's go to genre tropes then. Akshay: Okay, one genre trope is like especially when these kind of films where a character is completely thrown into a different world you need and especially if a character is a little bit under confident you need a strong support system and then this one comes through Radha's character who is her niece and Like, you know, it's just nice for Shashi's character to see, this is the kind of support and love I would receive. Like, you almost start to feel like, wish Radha was my own daughter. You know, like, her life would be just so different, you know? ⁓ So this is a genre trope I've realized in maybe, say, like, these coming-of-age sort of movies, you know, where, like, say, even a film like Queen, which had, like, when she... ⁓ Kangana Ranaut's character ends up going to meet, Lisa Hayden's character, you know, and she is this full liberated woman and like, so just, it sort of mirrors and supports where you're coming from in life. And it gives the required push to your main character to keep going on. Ananya: Yeah, yeah, they guide you through the new world and they push you through it, they help you navigate it. Akshay: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And what, because of the presence of this niece, ⁓ this gives rise to one more thing which I think modern movies are trying to do more and more, is a Bechtel test, which not a lot of movies are able to still do it. So what is the Bechtel test? It's merely a quantitative test ⁓ to a certain the positioning of female characters in your film. there three criterias which you need to fulfill ⁓ if you want to pass this test. So the first thing is a film needs to have one which have two female talking. ⁓ seems simple but it's not the case in a lot of movies like it doesn't exist. The second criteria is that they need to be talking to each other. They shouldn't be like lamps okay and number three is that even when they're talking they're supposed to not talk about a man and I think this film crosses it multiple times like the multiple scenes between Shashi and Radha where it's just about Ananya: you Yeah. Akshay: New York or it's just about ⁓ this is my class you can hang out around the coffee shop it's never about any man it's about Sashi's dreams and goals and I thought it was very refreshing see ⁓ and I feel like movies of this genre Ananya: Shall we get into the hero's journey next? Okay, the hero's journey. The hero's journey is the structural spine of your film. It gives you 12 different beats which you have to hit through scenes or sequences ⁓ to be able to emotional hits to your audiences at specific points in the film as you go through the hero's journey. Akshay: Let's do it. I think they're trying to do more and more of these. ⁓ So I think that was a good test. I actually did a mental check. So far all the films have analyzed. They're not done. We haven't crossed the Bechtel test. Even in a film like Chak De India, we haven't crossed the Bechtel test. Which again goes on to say it's not a qualitative test. ⁓ It's merely a quantitative test. But it is. Ananya: ⁓ my god, This ensures that sometimes in one of your drafts if your characters are not too strong or your plotting is a little idhar-udhar. Still you are giving your audience those emotional hits which makes them want to stay and come along for the rest of the journey with you. So the hero's journey of English Vinglish. ⁓ Okay, so first you have the ordinary world. Hmm. Hmm, very cool. Very nice analysis. do you want to do next? Should we go into... ⁓ Akshay: let's scenes and sequences. Ananya: scenes and sequences. Take it away. Akshay: ⁓ I want to talk about the first quote unquote date she has with Laurent. It's the moment where she and he, she and him walk back together from the class to the station, they take the train together and he just comes all the way on the opposite side to drop her. But it's a simple scene, but it achieves so much and Ananya: The ordinary world is the world in which the hero exists before they actually go on their journey. You establish the where, what, why, who, we understand their circumstances and we understand what their flaw is and what's holding them back from achieving their goal. Over here, we have the first 20 minutes-ish of the film where we see Sridevi's life, where she's the housewife, she's underappreciated. Yeah. She makes laddus which are very appreciated by everyone except her husband. She has a patronizing family apart from her younger son who's a little more loving towards her and a mother-in-law who is surprisingly loving for the milieu. And she is the only one in their milieu who doesn't speak English. You see that when you go to the daughter's school, then, so that is the ordinary world. Akshay: It's only because they cross check a few certain things is that this is the first time Sashi needs to feel validated along in the presence of a man who is not a teacher, who is not a student, who is not anybody else, but this could be a potential significant other kind of figure, even though she doesn't realize it, but we as an audience know that this could be something. So what the scene needs to do is that and her mother-in-law. Ananya: Right? Akshay: Yeah, correct. Yeah. it needs to give her confidence because she's a little less on that. basically it has to check everything which she has not been able to get in her life before. So ⁓ the confidence from a man that, ⁓ you're something more than what you were saying that you're made to like born, you're born to make laddus and how she says that, ⁓ like, but whatever, you know, a man can make art and woman is so he Ananya: So, the call to action. Now the call to action is when the hero is asked to and called to take action towards achieving their goal. They are given the opportunity to go after their goal. And I believe the call to action here is a very big sequence. ⁓ Because in her ordinary world, she doesn't speak English, she gets mocked for it. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. validates her you know that no that's not true a woman does it out of love and he also challenges her so people like characters who challenge you in a positive way ⁓ and two important connecting threads they have is that one is that they both don't know English so they're on a little bit of an equal footing there and second is the point of connection of food she is also like a home chef and he is a professional chef Ananya: but she gets by without it. There is no problem. But once they get a phone call that you have to go to America for your sister's daughter's wedding, for your niece's wedding, that's when we know that she is being asked to learn English because she is going to go into a world where speaking English is not just a ⁓ character flaw but it is Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. and they spoke so much about food in that walk back and it goes on to say that when you when you set these traits about your main character early on give other secondary characters the chance to pick out of those traits so that your scene becomes exciting and it gives the your main character the push it needs so i thought the whole date sequence was done very ⁓ very smartly it's not Ananya: of it doesn't you're not allowed to function you cannot function without speaking English. Akshay: It'll be an impediment to her stay there like she'll not be able to like manage. Ananya: Exactly, exactly. And throughout, this is a very long sequence because throughout this you see Shridevi constantly refusing the call. Like we don't see her studying English, we don't see her really trying anything extra. She goes into the immigration interview, even there she's speaking Hindi. ⁓ On the plane she is of course ⁓ speaking in Hindi again. She has Amitabh Bachchan's wonderful cameo in the film. Akshay: It's not just chitter-chatter nonsense. It's like every line is supposed to hit her character the way it has never been done before. Ananya: Hmm. Definitely. Wow, very cool. Yeah. Akshay: Now these are very small small things. One I want to talk about the trope of close call like a near miss is that we know Shashi has lied to go to class that she is ⁓ an illness ⁓ she's come back but we could have started the scene we could have gone into the scene saying that she is about to get caught ⁓ so we actually have a shot of ⁓ her and Radha coming in the house Ananya: translating all the scenes for her from a movie because it's in English and she wants to watch. Then you have her go to border control where again she messes up, she can't answer the questions correctly. Then you have a massive scene where she is, where she can't even order herself food at a cafe in New York. Akshay: What do you think? Ananya: and she is constantly rejecting the call. they are telling her, madam learn English. At one point, even in the immigration interview, they ask that how are you going to survive in our country without English? And so they really state the problem there that this is the call to action. So finally, after she really sees that she can't even feed herself if she doesn't speak English, like forget meeting respect and worthiness goals, her basic needs won't be met in this country. Akshay: They're like, hey, Sashi, where are you? are you? So we think she's going to get caught. And only to realize that she's actually hidden under the covers. ⁓ And like, ⁓ you guys came. was here the entire time. So a little bit of excitement in the scene, which you can create from a trope like this. I have another trope as a small scene. Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Akshay: She Ananya: She sees the poster of Learn English in four weeks on a bus and she's like, okay, let's do this. So we have call to action, refusal of the call. It continues a little more where she calls the school and says that I want to join and they say the fee is $400. And she's again a little taken aback. So that's another refusal of the call. Then she decides that, okay, no, I have the money. Akshay: ⁓ which is how can you convey the same information which the audience already knows in a surprising unexpected way is that her niece Radha comes to know that she's taken these classes or like actually she's just identified that I saw you with a man and we know the explanation and justification of that that she maybe will say I'm taking this class and doing this and that was a fellow student but instead, ⁓ Ananya: I am doing this. And in this, I believe the mentor figure for this structure up to this point is the receptionist at the school who answers the phone in because I thought that she's the one who actually gave her the boost that you should learn English. when she stutters on the phone, she slows down, she speaks mockingly or clearly, she enunciates. Akshay: Yeah. avoiding all this we cut to Radha's mom and Sridevi's sister in the kitchen and we just hear a scream like ahhhh and you just know she knows everything now so I thought that was a very fast efficient way to convey the same information the audience already knows Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: She gives her directions to wait him come to school. So instead of discouraging her, she mentors her into like the threshold. Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: Yeah, very cool. Akshay: Yeah. Right. Yeah. I don't know how to describe this trope but ⁓ there's this one sequence in the movie where Shashi and her fellow classmates go and watch a movie and they're on a she feels on a very big high that ⁓ I have this good English practice everything is great and ⁓ she immediately gets a call from her daughter which snaps her back into the real world Ananya: And the And crossing the threshold is when your hero steps into the new world that they are now taking this ⁓ new action, And they're committing to this journey. So for us, ⁓ is her going to train station and entering the classroom and the first day of class, right? Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah and again like films like these like they make you cross the threshold literally like you have the full walking sequence where you like you actually see her make this big life decision for herself like she is crossing the threshold right now so so quite literally. that ⁓ where's my scrapbook why didn't you do this ⁓ and she says don't worry I haven't read it and she's like how would you read it you wouldn't even be able to understand it and she feels horrible in that moment and like she's able to express her concerns like which she's never done in the movie and but the end of the sequences she places an order efficiently in a cafe so so what I really liked is that Ananya: Definitely. Yeah, yeah, it's a very dramatic that this is where the new world begins, right? Then we have Tests, Allies and Enemies. Tests, Allies and Enemies is this segment where the character is understanding what the new world is about. They are realizing who's on their side, who are their allies, who are their enemies, what sort of conflicts they're going to face, what challenges are going to come up their way and how to essentially navigate this new world. They are finding their bearings. you Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: the scene started with a high, it came to an altogether all-time low and again it becomes a very big high immediately and it also is well contained in the realm of the film that this is the new journey the character is on but it doesn't take away from the existing life they have left behind. and again it's like plot A, plot B is well tracked here that Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Ananya: So over here we have several sequences where we see her bonding with her classmates over food. We see her get respect as an entrepreneur because she makes laddoos. And that is her realizing that there are allies here in this world for her because she's respected for the fact that she's respected despite not speaking English. They have found other aspects of her personality to love. Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: Hmm. the plot A is that she's here to learn English and plot B is her equation with her family, let's say. So plot A comes back to plot B and again comes to plot A. ⁓ Hmm. Ananya: her niece finds out and she's expecting her niece to be angry but her niece actually is really supportive. Radha says that, I'm glad like you're learning this and she's on her side and becomes her ally. Another conflict is lying about it at home. So everyone there kind of becomes a mini enemy of a sort where she's lying to her sister and she's not telling anyone. And she gets respect. Akshay: ⁓ Meow, meow. Yeah. Ananya: I think, and especially the respect of a man. Well, Laurent, the French, yeah, French man in class who's also taking English lessons with her, really appreciates her. He gives her respect. He says that what you're doing, cooking is an So she realises that she is a lot more than just a an unworthy housewife, right? Akshay: Yeah. ⁓ Hahaha Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: Then you have the approach to the innermost cave. This is the part in your film where your hero is getting what they want. For Sridevi's character, it was love, it was appreciation, it was being seen and validated for who she is, it was respect. And she gets that respect from Laurent when at first he professes his love for her basically in a class by saying that, I come to class only for Shashi and her... Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. ⁓ Yeah. Ananya: Eyes her eyes are like two drops of coffee clouds. Sorry. ⁓ And then they have a scene he takes her to roof see the view and he caresses her, almost kisses her and she runs away from there. So she gets the respect and the love that she wants but now there are consequences. Akshay: ⁓ Foo. Foo. ⁓ Ananya: I have a bunch of scenes. ⁓ The first I want to talk about is the opening sequence, which is where they reveal Sridevi. This is important because Sridevi is making a comeback after 25 years, right? She needs a reveal. You can't just have an opening shot of Sridevi. But you can't just have a reveal sequence. It can't be gratuitous, gratuitous, gratuitous, It has to serve the purpose ⁓ of ⁓ So those consequences are your ordeal. What is the cost of getting what you want? And her ordeal is a she has to run away because what the fuck and as soon as she comes home she doesn't get a moment to breathe because her family has come to the US early to attend the wedding to surprise her and Akshay: ⁓ Hmm. So, so. ⁓ Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: Immediately you can see that she's uncomfortable. Her old world is back. Like she doesn't want to deal with this situation. Right? Akshay: ⁓ Ananya: ⁓ establishing something in the film and your first few minutes are the golden moments to give any exposition you want to give because after that everything has to come through the medium of conflict, right? So what they do very well is here is that they give her the reveal while establishing her daily routine. So she gets out of bed, you only cut to her feet. She goes and leaves the bedroom, you only see her back. ⁓ Akshay: back. ⁓ Hmm. And at this time it's also like her two of her worlds have collided like her new world which she has created here and a world which she almost she left behind now they have collided so like it's a big problem to her that she doesn't know anymore how to operate. Mm-hmm. for you. Hmm. Ananya: Exactly, exactly. Ideally, this all would have passed because the wedding and her final English class were on the same day and the two worlds wouldn't have collided. But this is the ordeal. So it had to get worse for her structurally. So her family has come early. And she still ditches her family at one point, lies, goes for her English class, but her son falls and he's calling out for her and she isn't there. Akshay: Hmm. ⁓ Ananya: making chai you only see her arms. Then as she is checking the mithai boxes you see a little bit of her neck. Then as she is reading the newspaper you get her side profile. And then her mother-in-law calls for her, you still don't see. You think that now she's going to turn and you're going to see like Sridevi finally but no, they hold it back. Akshay: Yeah home. Yeah. Hmm. Ananya: She feels extremely guilty about this and thinks she is being a bad parent, a bad mom and decides to quit her English class. But the reward for this is that Radha sets her up with the English teacher who says that we will do remote class before remote class was a thing. So they give her the phone when class is going on and she can listen to it while being away. So she doesn't have to give up on her dreams, right? like there's therav there's suspense, we're not giving it to you just yet. But we will establish what her life is through this. We'll give you more exposition of her life. She goes, makes tea for her mother-in-law. Then you come back again, she's trying to drink her chai, have her newspaper, when her husband says chai, and then she turns and you finally see her face. And you see her expression of annoyance, of being disrespected, of needing to serve, all in one look, which obviously she's able to. Akshay: Hmm. ⁓ Great. Ananya: Then we have the rest of the way back which is their prepping for the marriage. Laurent calls and asks her for coffee. She says no. She decides that she is going to go for the English exam by giving an excuse of going to the parlour. But just as it's time for her to go to the parlour, she is carrying a tray of laddus to set outside and her son spills it over. Sridevi is a wonderful actor, she pulls it off and that is her defining trait through the film that is a theme that bears thematic relevance. So we've given Sridevi the reveal she deserves get an exposition and see you get a thematic sort of ⁓ entry into the film. Akshay: No, no, no. ⁓ Ananya: So now she cannot go for her English exam and she has to make those laddus all over again because it's the day of the wedding and they need to be ready in time. Right? Then we have the final wedding. We know that she has not gone for the exam but everyone is giving toasts at the wedding. So, ⁓ Shridevi is asked to speak by her niece. Her husband stops her, says she can't communicate in English but she stands up and communicates in English. So thought that was a very economic opening scene that did many things at once. Akshay: Hmm. ⁓ Yeah, yeah, that's amazing Ananya: then I want to talk about heightening the conflict Heightening the conflict is essentially you keep pushing your character against a wall over and over and again and as you do that and gives a speech and that is her resurrection where she comes back to life. Yeah, she rises from the ashes. And then we have the return with the elixir which is the character has come back changed, right, in this moment. But what I really liked about this return with the elixir is that she hasn't really changed. She's still the same person. So she has a new skill. Akshay: Resurrection, Yeah. Ananya: You see their wits, you see how they managed to wriggle out of the situation, wriggle out from behind the wall and actually sort something at hand. So first, you have the school where she enters the school and is curious and her daughter keeps like just lugging her along, doesn't allow her to interact with the world. Then you are like okay, Shri Devi is going along with this. Then they meet the mother ⁓ her friend. Now she is not an ordinary mother. Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: But she is nothing has changed in her life. She's like, I am worthy whether I speak English or not. Akshay: Yeah. Hmm... Tend. Ananya: She's a mother who rattles off in English using phrases like, have a bone to pick with you and ⁓ we'll gossip about these Siamese twins and Sridevi has no idea how is she going to get out of the situation. She doesn't get out of the situation. Her daughter becomes her mouthpiece and she speaks for her. Again, her daughter pulls her away. And now to elevate this further, the class teacher could have been any teacher, but no, it's the English teacher in this. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: So this is the hero's journey. and now she has to talk as the parent. So how is she going to wriggle out of this situation? And there she goes and speaks in Hindi. So constantly they make it more and more difficult for the keep heightening the stakes like what is she gonna do now? What is she gonna do now? Right? It's essentially what you call a pressure cooker situation. And they've done this in another scene too, which is where she's in New York and she used to go and order a go and get like food for herself. Akshay: Bye. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: They build the scene from the moment she enters the coffee shop. You first see her seeing a couple making out. That is outside her comfort zone. So you already know that she is walking on eggshells here. She's uncomfortable. Then she's in a line. She comes and the woman says, how are you doing? She doesn't understand a basic how are you doing greeting. Now this creates misunderstanding between the characters. So Sridevi is just trying to figure shit out and this woman thinks she's a rude little bitch. Akshay: Hmm. ⁓ shh, shh. Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: So automatically you create conflict there. Then you have more conflict about what food you want, what sort of coffee you want, all of the regular things. Then when she has to pay, all the money falls out of her bag. So you've heightened the conflict at one more level. Then as that is sorted, she goes and she crashes against people and she spills all of their food and drinks. So how badly can you up the conflict one after the other, one after the other? Right? Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: And when you create something like this, your tension is so high that even the audience is stressed, right? Which is how you know you've created a good film if your audience is feeling the same emotions as your character. So then you have to diffuse the stress. So in the school situation, the English professor is more than happy to speak with her in Hindi and he even admits that my Hindi is not very good. Please bear with me. And over here, as she has abandoned her own food order and she's sitting on a bench outside the cafe, Akshay: Huh. Yeah. for ⁓ Hmm. Ananya: We have our first introduction with Lahore where he comes in, hands her her coffee and that diffuses the situation again. So I think those are very good scene building, pressure cooker scene building techniques. Like how can you make it worse and worse and worse and also drawing from the elements of the world around you. Next, I want to talk about two tiny scenes. One is you set up a plan. You explain what the plan is only for the plan to fail. Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Hmm. Ananya: This is done in a very simple way where her husband asks her all the questions about border control, what are they going to ask you, the duration of your stay. And she is a little bit iffy, but she has the answer. She knows them. But the moment she goes to border control and they ask her a question, they're like, what are you doing in America? And she's like, I am here to attend my own marriage or something like that. And she messes up. So they set up the plan only so that we know that the plan can fail later. So it creates something different, different information, right? Akshay: Yeah, yeah. Hmm. Ananya: And then I want to talk about one light little Chekov's gun. So you're multiple. Okay, I'll give one and then you can. This is my favorite Chekov's gun. A Chekov's gun is where you set up a gun at some point in the film and later on a character uses it. So in the start of the film, we see her son coming to her with some happy news and he's like, let's do the Michael Jackson dance. Let's do the Michael Jackson dance. And she does the whatever thing with him. Akshay: I have multiple of those. Yeah. Ananya: And then you think that's just a moment. But later on when she has a good day in English class and she's really proud of herself, randomly on the street she does the move. So very cool setup and payoff. Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Continuing with this, thought there were two things more, which was that the first time she's late to class, her professor is trying to tell her like, you have to use the word may I come in? And she gets, she doesn't get it for the longest time. And it seems like a simple English class lesson, you know, like somebody teaching her can I, may I, but they use it up later on again, when she's about, she has to give her the wedding toast and Her husband is about to say, my wife's English is a little bit, and she holds his hand and she says, may I? ⁓ I thought that was done very nicely. Another Chekov's gun I thought was, ⁓ she unable to ⁓ the word judgmental. ⁓ she goes and like asks her niece about it, that what does this word mean? And it seems a little random, you know, only to like, again, she uses this word in her main which like, Ananya: Nyeh. Akshay: ⁓ sort of like makes her understand that this is what my life has been you know and like she owns that moment so again used very nicely i want to ask you that there's another moment i don't know this is a check off gun or not is that in early on in the movie ⁓ when she's coming back from selling all the laddoos, her son like does like a scare prank on her you know like ⁓ and Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Mmm. Akshay: and we have the same thing repeat in the very end which is the reason why she's not able to go to exam that day is that she's going around with a tray of laddoos and her son scares her and she falls and like all the laddoos fall from her hand. So is this also a Chekov's gun situation? Ananya: Yeah. Hmm. think we're overthinking this. Akshay: Yeah we're overthinking this. Yeah. Ananya: Yeah, essentially if you want something to not come across as a coincidence, set it up earlier. That is the underlying rule here. Right? Akshay: Yeah, essentially that rule. Yeah. And again, like it should be set up for like for your audience to not feel like, ⁓ this came out of nowhere. It's like, like it has to exist in this person's world. So it feels right. Ananya: Exactly. Definitely. Yeah. Cool. Akshay: ⁓ and one last ⁓ minor scene thing which is that ⁓ again subverting expectation that ⁓ once she in her speech may I and she gets up you think immediately she's going to floor everybody with like best english possible but even again the first line she says is in hindi Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: Like it's almost second nature to her like she couldn't control her happiness at this point that just Hindi happened and you have a reaction of the daughter and the father being like ⁓ my god again and then she corrects ⁓ so sorry I have to talk in English now and then she goes on to talk in English again like the delay of gratification for the audience just a little bit more ⁓ don't give them every expected beat even though they know that's happening but again how much ever tastefully you can do it Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Akshay: keep doing it again and again. So yeah. Ananya: For sure. Cool, what do you want to go into next? Akshay: dialogue? ⁓ Ananya: Dialogue, let's go into dialogue. Akshay: Two which stuck out. The first one ⁓ is she's having dinner with... she's serving dinner for her husband. I say having dinner with him. She's serving dinner for her husband ⁓ and ⁓ this is after the scene where she's had the interaction the colleague in the mall ⁓ and ⁓ says, you don't talk to me like that and and then she says oh, I forgot important things are only discussed in English. And now this could have been any other dialogue right she could have asked why do not like talking to me or it could have been any other line but the line is important that the are only English is because you have to keep highlighting that this issue is a big thing for our character that their entire life is surrounded by this one fact that she can't speak English so Ananya: Bye. No. Akshay: And this is something a lot of our movies do, that innovative ways where the core of the movie or the principle of the movie keeps coming in different innovative dialogues. either way, I want to say like, we create this effect for comedy, which is like, say, let's say an example of a movie like a Vicky Donor where like every line is a sperm or a donation line, you know, because that's the mudda of the movie. Ananya: you Yeah. Akshay: Or even let's say a movie like say Hidden Figures where like the core conflict of the movie is about race and color so when you there's a scene where the head of NASA is breaking a washroom because he wants to say there are no more gonna be distinguishing washrooms for white and ⁓ other blacks and says in NASA we all pee the same color so like how much like whatever you do to up scenes with keeping the core essentially log line of the film in in ⁓ check i think you'll put out like good dialogue ⁓ so that's one technique i thought and the second one was ⁓ Ananya: Conflict, yeah. Yeah. Hmm. Right. Akshay: when she's in the plane next to Amitabh Bachchan and she's watching a she is trying to watch a movie and he says, oh, why are you not watching anything? And she says, ek hi Hindi picture hai, TV pe dekh li woh bhi. So again, first it comes from the same line that it's from the conflict and the logline of the film. But she could have just ended the dialogue at ek hi Hindi picture hai. But it the the addition of pe dekh woh bhi it ⁓ adds world to it ⁓ and it's built in realistic dialogue of ⁓ that's what like you know her life is like you know like she's watching maybe watching films on TV I don't know what is but it's just these small small things infuse a lot of character and life into all of your dialogues because it's they're just not informational they add a flavor to it and Ananya: Mm-hmm. Akshay: world building to it. So I thought that was a good technique. Don't make any dialogue a functional dialogue. It has to be revelation of the character in some or the other way. Ananya: Definitely. Definitely. I want to talk about the final speech of the film where Sridevi gets up and gives a toast to her own, to her niece and her husband Kevin that look, you all are getting married. And in the marriage, in the speech, she says things like, sometimes in a marriage you will feel like less, sometimes he will feel like less then. But at the end you always have to be there for each other because Akshay: Huh. Ananya: Family is the one place where no one judges you, where you can be who you want to be, that they won't make fun of you. And essentially, she is saying everything she wants from her family. But she's not saying it directly. This could have been a fight scene also between her and her husband that, you know, I always feel less than, you don't make me feel like an equal, nothing. But they have chosen to go through the route of using subtext. Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: than not saying what's on the surface, going one level below. use of subtext, how to not say things Akshay: Hmm. can only imagine how many drafts that speech would have taken. Like, I hate writing a speech because I just know it never gets done. Like, there's something you can always improve. Ananya: Oh my god yeah, and specially when one of the core rules is like we don't write monologues, like monologues are not allowed. So they have to have an additional layer, right? Over here the layer is subtext, then in Munna Bhai we have a monologue where we are like it's universal truth, so you are allowed to monologue. So it's under very specific situations that you are allowed to go on to a monologue, right? Akshay: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Ananya: And speaking of universal truth, I'll get into the next dialogue technique which is at the immigration interview when she's applying for her visa and the man asks her, how will you survive in our country without English? And a guy happens to be passing from there and he says, just like you survive in our country without knowing Hindi. Now, and Shri Devi was honestly a deer caught in the headlights, right? When they ask how will you survive ⁓ in our country without knowing English? Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: and if she understood the question to begin with at all. over ⁓ here this man's response essentially saves her. They cut the scene there. You don't need to see anything more. So this is what they call Deus Ex Machina right? a god-like figure comes and saves you from the scene and is essentially a screenwriting no-no. You are not allowed to do this. But the reason we get away with it in this scene is because we are speaking a universal truth again. Akshay: Yeah. Hmm. Ananya: that why is there this hypocrisy that this white person is allowed to be in our country without speaking Hindi which but as brown people we are supposed to meet every law so it's almost like stick it to the man so that's why this deus ex machina is allowed in this situation Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. yeah yeah i also i also think in my head these are all like trailer lines like you know this will make it a trailer of your film right like it's such a punch up ⁓ it's such a wholesome line so yeah Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, for sure, for sure. Cool, do you want to go into world building next? Akshay: Yeah, I can say that. This movie could have very well easily become like a dull film where everybody is sort of punching down on her. But I think there's a certain amount of balance that they have achieved by creating characters that do look down on her but at the same time characters who time and again help her uplift her and where she does feel comfortable. So it doesn't feel just one thing or the other. I think it's a very healthy balance of both, which I think is a true reality for the world that not everybody who you're going to meet is going to be bad to you. So I thought that was very consciously done at right times. Ananya: Yeah, it's also a tonal choice, right? Because the Akshay: It's a tonal choice, yeah. Yeah, fully. Ananya: Right, because the world is not bleak. It's still a fun film. It's where you need to have lightness to it, a certain amount of lightness. So it's essential to bring characters who bring in that lightness, right? Akshay: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, if this was a psychological horror, this would be completely different, right? imagine like she said, ⁓ this form is in English. yeah, why you can't fill it like that. Yeah. ⁓ Ananya: Hahaha Yeah. Everywhere. Akshay: ⁓ So yeah, it's a, so I think the world and tone have to go hand in hand, right? Like essentially that you have to maintain a balance to determine what's the tone you are setting for your film. Ananya: Yeah. for sure. Yeah. And I think it was also a great film of using the world to derive conflict, right? If not from this film, then where? Because they literally put her in New York, they put her in situations where the conflict is very organic to the world. Now, I think my favourite one from this is the school. And I'll tell you why. Because they had to put her in not an ordinary school, but a school in which everyone speaks English. Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: Now, the first thought over here would be to put her in a fancy international school. But given their socioeconomic strata, that is not viable. That's why they put them in a convent school, where English is also the lingua franca where everyone would be speaking English. The level is very high, but it is within their socioeconomic bracket. I thought that was very thoughtfully done. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Yeah. Hmm. Ananya: Then you have little, little details like she's confused because in India they're all street names but in New York they're all street numbers, right? She doesn't know how to use the underground, the train ticket. She's like, where does this thing go? Then you have... Akshay: Yeah, yeah Yeah. Ananya: A very simple moment where she's double checking the lock in New York when she's leaving the house. She's like, has this shut, has this shut!? And you can immediately tell this lock doesn't exist in her normal life back in India. So they've used it to create lots of little moments and to show us that she is out of place in this world. Akshay: Yeah, house. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: ⁓ next, I just wanted to talk about the theme of the film. Right? So again, a theme is built on a dramatic question, right? It is a dramatic question where you are asking the audience that where on the spectrum of this do you lie? We will tell you where we lie based on the solution offered by this film. And over here, the dramatic question is Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: Should you be respected for who you are or for what you can do? For being nice or for being impressive? Right? And very early on, we know where Shri Devi lands on the spectrum because when she goes to meet school teacher at school, Akshay: ⁓ Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. ⁓ Father Vincent. Ananya: Father Vincent, yeah, he's talking about ⁓ how great she is as a student, Sapna, her daughter, everything. But Shri Devi asks, but is she nice? Do people like her? she respect everyone? So immediately you know that this one doesn't care about being impressive, right? And they frame the theme of the film there. And then at the end of the film, Akshay: Huh. Hmm. Hmm. ⁓ ⁓ Hmm. Ananya: The thing is, she has become respectable now, right? She speaks English. So essentially what the film, the message the film is giving in this moment is that, ⁓ that being respectable is important, being impressive is important. But they switch it around, which in that scene where she's in the plane and she almost asks for the New York Times, but then she's like, no, do you have something in Hindi? Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: even though she is now capable of reading in English so she's like even though I have I've proved I'm capable I am still the person that is where they really answer the dramatic question of the film is that no it's about who you are she may have become capable Akshay: ⁓ Yeah. Hmm. Ananya: but it's still about who you are. So I thought the theme was very amply displayed in this film. And one thing you also have to do with theme is you have to have different characters who are on the spectrum of the theme to display the different point of views to be able to portray them. So ⁓ over we have Satish on one hand, who's her husband. He is the picture of a man who's all about image, who's all about how I come across speaking in English. Then we have her daughter who is taking in her father's image. Akshay: Huh. Hmm. Ananya: She is also a teenager. She is in that stage in her life where she has to prove to everyone that I am the coolest, I am the best. So she is also like, no, very, you have to be impressive. Who cares about what sort of person you are? But then you have the son character. The son is young. He still doesn't understand. He is still pure. All this what is impressive and all. he doewsn't understand. He is like, do you love me? Are you a kind person? So he portrays that untouched'ness. Then you have Laurent. Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Huh. Ananya: Who is at the same level as her because he understands what she is going through. So the theme has to be portrayed through different characters who are on different ends of the spectrum so that you're exploring it broadly because a film has to be a comprehensive exploration of the question you're asking. It can't just be that this is my point of view. You have to earn your point of view. You have to prove it by your main character overcoming the conflict which is posed by all these different characters who are not on her side through the way. Akshay: Huh. late. Huh. Ananya: And once they've earned their point of view, only can you establish it in the film that this is why my point of view is the correct point of view, it's the winning point of view and it's the theme of my film. Akshay: Hmm hmm hmm. Yeah. I have one sequence which I have forgotten to like tell you Ananya: Hey, Akshay: One thing, moral choice ⁓ as ⁓ a technique where character has to decide between whether they go back to something which was existing in their original world, ordinary world ⁓ or make that choice that you know what, no I have a new life now I'm gonna stick to this. So where Shashi's character her plan of like all the serving the laddoos to her family at the wedding goes kaput she's given the choice by her niece that we can order the laddoos, you go take your exam and at that time she places very high importance on her original quote-unquote duty ⁓ somebody her family relies on essentially where Ananya: I think what you mean there is because this ties in very well into theme is about being impressive again or being a person, a good person. And over here it is about this is who I am, these are my values. Being impressive is not a value. So I will do what is true to me. Akshay: Huh. Yeah. yeah yeah Yeah so i thought again like that was done very nicely we saw this Koi Mil Gaya where he has the choice that do we send the alien back but if we do i lose all my powers and he makes that choice that you know what i'll manage without my powers ⁓ the right thing to do is you go Ananya: Yeah, it shows you where your character stands by what they're willing to sacrifice for. It helps you understand what they'll sacrifice. Akshay: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Ananya: Cool. Well, thank you everyone for joining us on another episode of the Breakdown Besties podcast. ⁓ And you know the drill, like, share, subscribe, send it anyone who you think will find it helpful. Leave any questions, any requests for movies, episodes, technique breakdowns, write in the comments and we will absolutely get back to you. And we'll see you next Thursday on another episode of the Breakdown Besties podcast.