Soni

The sad reality of delhi,the raja beta entitled youth and men of today. The protagonist 'soni' and her boss play their parts to the hilt with equal aplomb.everyone seems like a non-actor in the film yet they do full justice to their roles,there is no over the top cinematography or sad songs to show the plight of any of the characters. The screenplay,direction, dialogue delivery and expressions of all the actors are spot on.the camera is totally oblivious.we get to see the other side of the spectrum,ie,from a female cop's viewpoint. The beautiful delhi winters and warm clothes and the change of behavioural conduct of cops while being on duty registering a complaint to being in plainclothes buying groceries and handling an empty cylinder are the small niche things to notice. One can see the improvisation of the female lead when an incense stick falls down and goes out and she hands it over to her ex and reignites it(heath ledger in batman when hez dressed as a nurse and the building behind him doesnt blow up) and when one of her foot gear is acting cocky while shez walking to the patrol cars. There is no overacting whatsoever,the movie is all about the lower and upper middle class and their daily lives as cops in the capital. The story and plot could have been worked on a little to add a little more masala but each script and director have their own take on things and they have done full justice to the same. Its a must watch and highly recommended & one takes home something after watching it.

"Soni" is a film that deals with gender sensitive issues. Indian cinema deals very less with this subject. The women are either glorified or shown as helpless victims in most of the popular narratives. Ivan Ayrs debut film "Soni" breaks that by staging its lead characters amidst the real world. The protagonist "Soni" a police officer in Delhi police dealing with crimes against women. A warm blooded with anger always on the tip reports to her higher official Kalpana who is completely opposite, full of calmness and capability of judgement. They are in power but still are vulnerable and have their own weakness in dealing with the world of men on either side, the criminals as well as the male police officials. This is a complex idea but executed with such clarity by Ayr. Some of the extreme sequences like handling of youths taking drugs in ladies toilet, top Navy official harassing police on duty, high school girl teased for usage of sanitary pads. These are the threads that the film deals with. "Soni" was screened at Venice in the Orizzonti Competition category.

Soni is an excellent work of art. It's to the point representation of the reality makes it a definite watch. It's beauty lies in the two leading ladies. Both have their own persona which is quite different from each other hence they some how balances each other. The conflicted characters and their performances is brilliant. Well in addition the cinematography is good. The calm yet dark Delhi is shot very well.

This is an honest film. The characters portrayed are quite reasonable, life-like and not-above fault. Though Soni is the angry young women of today's age, I even as a man, see myself in her image where some people with character, strength and aggression wants to change this world. Sooner or later the reality sinks in, that this world is like a dog's tale!! Though that doesn't mean you should run away from the reality and don't do your part...Probably Soni also by the end credits realized that truth. Her senior colleague/ friend/ someone who empathize with her - Kalpana also plays a great supporting role, though at times I wished her character should have been allowed to do more...many times she remains just a wife of another senior police officer! Ivan Ayr, should have portrayed a little more depth and color to her role. Anyways great attempt to portray police life with nuance which you can barely see in bollywood over-the-top, over-dramatic and sentimental stories!!!

And IMHO - The scene depicting an issue in Kaplana's niece life could have been more strongly handled...showcasing that for such a natural thing in any woman's life, she can handle that courageously and respond to her classmates accordingly...anyways maybe director has some viewpoint which I may couldn't understand...

Overall a really good attempt.

Some topics are better explained with subtleties. "Soni" refuses to demarcate police and society. Beautifully expresses how everyone is part of the same society, even those who are supposed to protect it. And with all the reality, there is an element of hope which makes it a worthwhile watch. One of the best police stories with applaudable scenes shot in one go.