Hindi Medium is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Saket Chaudhary, and produced by Dinesh Vijan and Bhushan Kumar under their respective banners Maddock Films and T-Series. It stars Irrfan Khan, Saba Qamar, Dishita Sehgal, Deepak Dobriyal and Amrita Singh. Set in Delhi, the plot centres on a couple's struggle to get their daughter admitted to a prestigious English-medium school in order to rise in society. It is a remake of the Bengali film Ramdhanu.
The idea for the film was created by Chaudhary and his co-writer Zeenat Lakhani during the development of his previous film Shaadi Ke Side Effects (2014). It was shot in Chandni Chowk, Anand Lok, Karol Bagh, and Sangam Vihar. The film's soundtrack album was composed by the duo Sachin–Jigar, with lyrics by Priya Saraiya and Kumaar. The score was composed by Amar Mohile. Cinematography was handled by Laxman Utekar, and A. Sreekar Prasad edited the film.
Made on a production budget of crore, Hindi Medium was released on 19 May 2017, and received a generally positive reception from the critics, with particular praise for the cast performances. The film grossed at the worldwide box office (mostly from China). At the 63rd Filmfare Awards, it won Best Film, and Best Actor for Khan. A spiritual successor, Angrezi Medium was released theatrically on 13 March 2020.
Plot Raj Batra is a wealthy and successful boutique owner who lives in the traditional Old Delhi neighbourhood of Chandni Chowk with his wife, Meeta, and their five-year-old daughter, Pia. Despite their comfortable lifestyle, the couple is deeply eager to secure Pia's admission into an elite, prestigious English-medium school in Delhi, believing it is the only way she can gain entry into high society. They set their sights on Delhi Grammar School, the top-ranked institution in the city. To satisfy the school's strict residency requirement, they leave their home and move to a luxurious villa in the upscale Vasant Vihar neighbourhood. They hire an admission consultant, Saumya, to coach them through the sophisticated interview process, but due to Raj and Meeta’s limited command of the English language, Pia’s application is ultimately rejected.
Desperate for a solution, Raj learns from one of his shop employees that his child secured a seat at a top school through the Right to education (RTE) quota, a government initiative reserved for underprivileged families. After a local broker explains how wealthy parents systematically illegally exploit this system, Raj and Meeta decide to fake their economic status. They relocate to the impoverished neighbourhood of Bharat Nagar for a month, adapting to a life of poverty to clear a background verification check. There, they form a close bond with their new neighbours, Shyam Prakash and Tulsi Prakash, a truly struggling couple who are desperately hoping their own son, Mohan, will get into Delhi Grammar School under the same quota. Unaware of the deception, Shyam and Tulsi generously teach the Batras how to survive on a meagre income, and Shyam even helps Raj secure a low-wage factory job. When the lottery results are announced, Pia successfully gains admission, but Mohan’s application is tragically rejected.
The Batras immediately move back to their affluent life in Vasant Vihar. Burdened by heavy guilt over taking a seat from a deserving child, Raj secretly makes a massive anonymous financial donation to renovate Mohan's poorly funded government school, equipping it with modern facilities and new textbooks. As Mohan begins thriving and speaking fluent English at the upgraded school, a grateful Shyam sets out to track down the anonymous benefactor to thank them. His search leads him directly to the upscale Vasant Vihar villa, where he discovers Raj's true identity and the elaborate scam they pulled in the slums. Devastated by the betrayal, Shyam storms off to expose Raj's fraud to Delhi Grammar School's principal, Lodha Singhania.
Raj and Meeta race to the school to intercept Shyam but arrive too late. However, inside the building, Shyam encounters little Pia, who greets him with pure affection. Moved by his bond with the little girl, Shyam chooses to protect her future and leaves without exposing the family to the principal. Witnessing Shyam's profound integrity only deepens Raj’s immense guilt. He goes directly into Principal Singhania's office, confesses to the entire fraud, and demands that Pia's admission be revoked so the seat can go to a deserving child. The elitist principal callously dismisses his concerns, stating that the school's reputation matters more than morality.
Refusing to comply with a broken system, Raj gatecrashes the school's packed Annual Day function. He takes the stage and delivers an impassioned speech criticising how the English language has become a tool of class discrimination in India, transforming education into a profit-driven business rather than a basic right. He leaves the stage to dead silence from the wealthy crowd, with only Meeta standing up to applaud him. Outside the gate, Raj and Meeta meet the principal of the Bharat Nagar Government School and proudly enroll Pia there, ensuring she grows up studying alongside Mohan.
Cast Credits adapted from Bollywood Hungama:
Irrfan Khan as Raj Batra Delzad Hiwale as young Raj Saba Qamar as Mita Malhotra Batra Sanjana Sanghi as young Meeta Dishita Sehgal as Pia Batra Amrita Singh as Principal Lodha Singhania Deepak Dobriyal as Shyam Prakash Neelu Kohli as Geeta Malhotra Kiran Khoje as Sushila, Raaj & Meeta's house maid Rajeev Gupta as Batra Master, Raaj's father Sumit Gulati as Chhotu Mallika Dua as Dolly, a customer at Batra Fashion Studio Kulbir Kaur as Dolly's mother Charu Shankar as Maya Tillotama Shome as Saumya, a consultant Rajesh Sharma as MLA Taran Bajaj as Teashop owner, the man who settled Raaj & Meeta's house in Bharat Nagar Ankur Jain as news reader Swati Daas as Tulsi Prakash, Shyam's wife Neha Dhupia as Aarti Suri, Kabir's wife (special appearance) Sanjay Suri as Kabir Suri, Aarti's husband (special appearance) Angshuman Nandi as Mohan Prakash, Shyam & Tulsi's son Jason as Ayaan Suri, Kabir & Aarti's son Anurag Arora as Mr. Kumar, Hindi Teacher at Delhi Grammar School Jaspal Sharma as Raj's neighbour Ekta singh as Raj's neighbour Taniskaa Sanghvi as a student from Bharat Nagar Government School (Special Appearance in the song “Ek Jindari”) Guru Randhawa as himself (Special Appearance in the song “Suit Suit”) Arjun as himself (Special Appearance in the song “Suit Suit”)
Production Made on a production budget of crore, Hindi Medium was produced by Vijan of Maddock Films and Bhushan Kumar of T-Series. The film was directed by Chaudhary, his third after romantic comedy films Pyaar Ke Side Effects (2006) and Shaadi Ke Side Effects (2014). He came up with the idea of making a film about India's education system with his co-writer Zeenat Lakhani during the development of the latter film. They found the idea too extensive to include in Shaadi Ke Side Effects, so after its release, they decided to incorporate the idea into a separate film. Stating the reason to make Hindi Medium, Chaudhary said, "The subject is so relevant. We realised that today irrespective of the background of the parent, they still want to have the best education for the children."
Pre-production work began after the release of Shaadi Ke Side Effects. Chaudhary began working on the story at that time, and he chose Delhi as the film's key location. The production crew consisted primarily of people Chaudhary had worked with on Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Shaadi Ke Side Effects, with the exception of production designer Mustafa Stationwala—they are editor A. Sreekar Prasad; dialogue writer Amitosh Nagpal; and cinematographer Laxman Utekar. The score was composed by Amar Mohile.
On 29 May 2016, News18 reported the casting of Saba Qamar in the film, which marked her Bollywood debut. Khan had recommended the casting of Qamar to the makers of the film. He said, "When I saw her YouTube videos, I recommended her to the director and producer and they really liked her". Speaking about her role, Qamar said, "I play a person who didn't get an opportunity to fulfil her dreams so she comes up with a scheme about giving the daughter a life that she didn't have". Khan commented that he had accepted the role as it tackled the realistic subject of the challenges of obtaining a good education in India.
Qamar arrived in Mumbai from Pakistan in July 2016, and the film's principal photography began in the same month. The film was shot in Chandni Chowk, Anand Lok, Karol Bagh, and Sangam Vihar. The shooting was completed in October 2016. A song sequence was also filmed in Georgia. Qamar commented that she enjoyed working with Khan, and felt safe while shooting in Delhi. In the same interview with Pakistani newspaper Dawn, she commented that her experience wasn't affected by the nationalist far-right political party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's hostility towards Pakistan at the time.
Soundtrack
Hindi Medium's soundtrack consists of two original compositions: "Hoor" and "Ek Jindari", which were produced by Sachin–Jigar. The songs were written by Priya Saraiya and Kumaar, whereas Atif Aslam and Taniskaa Sanghvi, rendered the vocals. In addition to the original tracks, the makers recreated two songs: "Suit Suit", written and sung by Guru Randhawa and Arjun and composed by Randhawa and Rajat Nagpal, and "Oh Ho Ho Ho", composed by Sukhbir and Abhijit Vaghani, sung by Sukhbir, rapped by Ikka Singh and written by Kumaar. The rights to the album of the film were acquired by T-Series, and it was released on 21 April 2017.
Release The film was initially scheduled to release on 12 May 2017, but was pushed back a week, thereby clashing with Half Girlfriend, scheduled for release on the same date. Hindi Medium was declared 'tax-free' in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.
In February 2018, following the success of Dangal (2016) and Secret Superstar (2017) in China, it was announced that Hindi Medium was to be released in China. Hindi Medium was released in China on 4 April 2018 to coincide with the Qingming Festival. The film's Chinese title is 起跑线 (Qi Pao Xian), which means The Starting Line.
Controversy The makers of the Bengali film Ramdhanu (2014), directed by the duo Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee, had launched a copyright case against Hindi Medium, claiming that the storyline was similar to their film. In response to this, Chaudhary said "We have researched our script over a year and it is based on original material. I would request everyone involved to not rush to a judgement without ascertaining the facts. And the facts can easily be confirmed by watching the film." Roy and Mukherjee later withdrew their case.
Critical reception
Hindi Medium received a generally positive reception from critics, with particular praise for Khan's and Qamar's performances.