Well, before the grand quarantine season began, I was really looking forward to watching, Angrezi Medium which was comeback in a way for Irrfan after his ailment. Unfortunately, the weekend in which the movie released, the pandemic had struck forcing the authorities to shut down the theatres. However, the makers did a good job in releasing the movie on Hotstar and finally I got my chance to watch it. Was it worth my time…lets find out.

Angrezi Medium, the second in the series and not connected to Hindi Medium, is a story of father who would go any length to help his daughter fulfil her dreams of studying in London. The story is decent though not novel. The issue lies with the screenplay. It is patchy though it does have a few laugh out loud scenes and heart warming ones too. The problem is the use of unnecessary subplots that slow down the drama. The scenes(especially in the first half) are quite long and they soon start getting tedious. The second half is better when the story starts to move a bit but again falls prey to a few subplots culminating into a preachy climax with a forced car sequence. In other words, the screenplay has its elements bit doesn’t quite come together. The dialogues are funny and the performances elevate it(more on them later). The music is alright. Director Homi Adajania who last directed Finding Fanny, is not really in form here. He is a good director but something has not clicked for him. Probably, it is the writing that is a let down.

The performances save the day in a very big way so much so that the drama is more than watchable. Tillotama Shom is outstanding in a small cameo. Dimple Kapadia and Kareena Kapoor Khan are a joy to watch but they are largely wasted. Pankaj Tripathi is hilarious in his cameo and his scene with the two leading men is the highlight of the movie for me. Kiku Sharda is first rate. Ranvir Shorey has done a good job though his character is underwritten. Radhika Madan is such a natural onscreen and wonderful as the young girl with big dreams. Deepak Dobriyal has finally arrived and so lovely to watch him and Irrfan act together. He is a wonderful actor and here too he and Irrfan save the film to an extent. The two are Tom and Jerry of the film. Which brings me to Irrfan. Outstanding is an understatement for such an effortless performance. It is sad we will not be able to witness his performance anymore. We’ll miss you.

Angrezi Medium is not as good as Hindi Medium but the performances just about manage to make this strictly a one time watch. Watch it once for Irrfan, Deepak Dobriyal and Radhika Madan😊.