Writer and Director: Pravesh Kumar
Pravesh Kumar’s alternative romcom is a delightfully hotbed of family spite, local gossip and a culture clash between British-Indian and Indian perspectives. Built around the consequences of an arranged marriage gone wrong when the reluctant groom disappears after the service, there are some nicely observed domestic and community reactions in Little English which linger long after the event itself. But ultimately, Kumar still pays tribute to the genre staple – finding the one who truly understands you.
Left at the reception by her new husband Raj, after she travelled from India to marry him, Simmy is required to live with her in-laws as though nothing has happened, yet with hardly any English and no independence, she is kept on a tight regime. When Raj’s brother Harry is released from prison, initially he resents the meek and obedient Simmy but the pair soon start to bond as she learns a little English from her brother-in-law, but what of her actual husband?
Kumar blends together ideas from earlier romcoms including I Give It a Year where the person you married isn’t necessarily the one, and While You Were Sleeping in which two brothers also feature as the romantic interest – one undeserving, one redeemed by love. But setting this story in a British-Punjabi community in Slough offers plenty of opportunity for additional comedy as the remainder of the extended family and some nosey neighbours also pile-in on the action. It is ultimately a female-led film looking at the expectations, traditions and, eventually, solidarity that both restricts and binds the women together.
The plot is self is unremarkable, the men behave badly, there are obstacles to true love and misunderstandings aplenty before everything works out for the best. But Kumar add value in the examination of traditional practice, the limitations imposed on Simmy and her yearning for home. And the film also notes the expectations placed on other women, and while not wholly sympathetic characters, the pressure to deliver grandchildren and even the evergreen domestic woes of saving face in the neighbourhood are well explored.
Rameet Rauli holds the movie as Simmy, a young woman who genuinely blossoms as the film unfolds, revealing a cheekier and more determined personality that gives the film its drive. She is supported by Viraj Juneja as her chief love interest and there’s a spikiness to Harry that mellows, and while it may be cheesy, it also affects and directs the character’s moral behaviour. The supporting cast have a lot of fun including Seema Bowri as the mean-spirited mother-in-law and Goldy Notay as a fellow suffered making the best of family life.
A Little English doesn’t necessarily tread any new ground for the romcom, but its appealing scenario has much to offer on the prejudices and assumptions with and between communities wrapped up in a family-friendly story.
Little English is available on digital platforms in the UK.
