Soni

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.

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.

Soni has been made very sensitively. It is a pleasant film. All the actors have done a wonderful job. The entire crew/ team of the film needs to be complimented for doing justice to their respective functions. A must watch film. Cheers to the makers!!!

"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.

Right from the moment I landed on the Netflix home page and I saw the thumbnail of the movie. I fell in love with it. Trust me, each and every moment of the movie was like delving deep in the unconscious realms of the minds of the women. The subtleness which Ivan Iyer showed in directing the frames is exceptional. The way Saloni Batra portrayed the mid aged IAS officer, Kalpana is fabulous. she captured the crux of the character. She had the character in her hold or I should she say she became Kalpana. Geetika was so gripping as the hothead Soni who was dealing with emotional voids in her life and society. The portrayal deserves an applaud. She seemed so real, maybe she knew what it felt to be a girl who is frustrated with what society has to offer. I am in awe and love with this movie. Its an extension into the awakening conscious of the filmmakers, actors and our society as a whole.

I wish that many people like Ivan Iyer, Anand Gandhi, Sohum Shah keep on walking on this path and showing us our darkest, corrupt and unjust practises going on in our society behind the veils of our obscure traditions, practices and egos.

A special thanks to Netflix and other production houses supporting them.