English Vinglish to release in China in 6000 theatres for Sridevi’s fifth death anniversary on February 24

Sridevi-starrer English Vinglish will be released in China on February 24 on the late actor’s fifth death anniversary. The Hindi film, directed by Gauri Shinde, will be shown in 6,000 theatres on the Chinese mainland. It had its world premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received a five-minute standing ovation. It was released in theatres in India on October 5, 2012. (Also read: Janhvi Kapoor recalls Sridevi being paired with older actors: ‘She was 13 when she was a heroine to…’)

Gauri Shinde’s directorial debut marked Sridevi’s return to films after a 15-year absence. English Vinglish went on to become India’s official entry to the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category for 2013. The film also starred Adil Hussain, Sumeet Vyas, Priya Anand, Sulabha Deshpande and French actor Mehdi Nebbou.

The comedy-drama featured Sridevi as a naive housewife who decides to take up English lessons in the US after being mocked by her husband and daughter. She gains confidence in herself after making friends in her new class.

In a statement, Kumar Ahuja, COO of Eros International said of the upcoming China release, “Indian films have gradually gained a foothold in the competitive Chinese movie market, the second biggest in the world. We have seen a rising demand for Indian films in China Mainland, especially the ones which are culturally driven. We are excited for the audience in China to marvel at this masterpiece showcasing one of the most memorable performances by the late Bollywood superstar Sridevi.”

The film was inspired by the experiences of Gauri’s own mother who ran a spice business and often wished she knew English to help further it. Actor Amitabh Bachchan had a special cameo in the Hindi version, while Ajith Kumar appeared in a cameo in the Tamil version.

Sridevi was found dead in her Dubai hotel on February 24, 2018. She had accompanied her family to attend the wedding of her nephew Mohit Marwah. The actor was married to producer Boney Kapoor. They have two daughters Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor. Janhvi made her debut with Dhadak in 2018. Khushi will be making her acting debut with the Netflix film, The Archies, along with Agastya Nanda and Suhana Khan.