Shernaz patel, the teacher of angrezi mein kehte hain

Shernaz Patel is still best remembered as Michelle Mcnally’s mother in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black but her latest assignment may change all that. Shernaz plays the English teacher on NDTV Imagine’s new edutainment show Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain (Mondays to Fridays at 6.30pm and at 11pm), produced by Siddhartha Basu’s Synergy Adlabs. Quite a departure from Devraj Sahay’s ‘Teacher’ in Black, Shernaz plays a warm and understanding teacher who not only teaches English to the classroom of students but also to people sitting at home.

“I really liked the concept,” Shernaz tells t2 over phone from Mumbai. “Teaching a language is a great thing to do and when the language is English, nothing like it. English — reading, speaking and writing — is very important in today’s world. And it’s an edutainment show, where besides educating the audiences there’s also the entertainment factor.”

Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain is unlike anything seen on television before. Mind Your Language and its Hindi avatar Zabaan Sambhal Ke were merely entertainment with no intentions to teach the audiences. “It’s nothing like those serials,” Shernaz reiterates. “I believe it’s a chance that Synergy and Imagine are taking. I do not understand how the TRP business works. But I do believe that such a well-researched curriculum can come in handy for not only people who do not know English at all but also for people who just know a smattering of the language.”

The show has been on air for a couple of weeks and “the chance” seems to be paying off. “The ratings for the first week has been really good,” says Shernaz. “I hope shows like Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain will bring about the change in television, just like there has been a change in films. Then actors can do everything. In the West actors do TV, films and theatre all at the same time. It’s only in India that film actors do not do TV or stage.”

Still identified as the mother in Black, Shernaz says she doesn’t think about her image when she takes on something new. “I don’t get into all that, I just do my job,” she says. “I will do things which I believe I can do. I don’t think I will be conformable doing a saas-bahu serial. It’s just not me!”

But meaningful films, now that’s Shernaz territory. The talented actress will soon be seen on the big screen in Sooni Taraporevala’s Little Zizou and Amol Palekar’s Dhumkata.