Know Why Sridevi Is Like Rajinikanth In Japan

We all know the craze for Rajinikanth in India and now we learn that Indian actress Sridevi has a similar fan following in Japan. All thanks to her comeback film English Vinglish. It is quite interesting to note that the film has not yet released in Japan. She got this huge response just for the preview of the movie.

Apparently, the theme of an Asian woman struggling with the English language has struck a universal chord in Japan. And the Japanese women, themselves driven to despair by the linguistic discrepancies of the diaspora, have embraced the film in a big way.

The film's producer R Balki is currently in Tokyo to launch the movie. "The response is terrific. Every Japanese women identifies with Sridevi. The Japanese love the film. Anyone and everyone who has seen it has connected immediately with the theme of linguistic barricading," said Balki.

So far English Vinglish has been screened at Aichi Women's Film Festival. After a few months it will get an all-Japan commercial release. "We are planning a very wide Japanese release. The distributors in Japan think this is the first Indian after the films of Rajinikanth that the Japanese will connect with in such a huge way," Balki exclaimed.

Now, they want to meet Sridevi before the film gets a Japanese release in December. "We are planning a major release here in Japan. It would be the biggest ever release in Japan for any Indian film," he added.

The Japanese are so keen to meet Sridevi that the producer plans to take the actress to Japan. "The Japanese identify with all the linguistic insecurities of Sridevi's character Shashi. If you cut away the spice and chillies in our food, we are exactly the same as the Japanese. The filmmaker Gauri Shinde and Sridevi have become very popular and the word on the film in Japan is very strong," he said.

IANS