This is my first review of a Netflix original film. I watched Soni 2 days ago and still can’t seem to get it out of my head for many reasons.
The fact that it stayed with me for so long after watching merits a detailed
review.
Putting aside the superior craft of storytelling, Soni is an
important and personal film. It holds a mirror to the society we live in, its
patriarchal and orthodox beliefs, the biases enjoyed by the more privileged,
the helpless police department which we generally take so much pride in and
unmistakable misogyny that runs deep in the veins of our system. Sure, all of
the above have been discussed at length innumerable times in Bollywood but we are
always given a more dramatized version of the incidents. In Soni, however, debutante
director Ivan Ayr very well understands that the inherent nature of the system
is so exaggerated that all he needs to do is present Delhi in its raw,
vulnerable form. The film has a beautiful understated tone that doesn’t require
any showy dialogues or reactions to underline the gravity of the moment in a
scene. It has no plot to speak of as such, but is more of a stripped
down character study that was reminiscent of Asghar Farhadi’s (who I think is
one of the best filmmakers in the world) films except that the characters here
aren’t as grey as the ones in his films.
Ivan skillfully taps into the energy of silence and the
pauses in a scene to transport the viewer right in the middle of the action.
Rarely does a film invite its audience to enter the head space of its characters
and witness who they actually are and what their thought process is. Also,
technically speaking, every scene is shot in a single take which enhances the
viewing experience manifold. Since I’m a sucker for long, single takes, I just
admired the efforts gone into conceiving each scene so seamlessly, even if
there is pretty much nothing significant happening in it. The film remains
grounded for most part thanks to the actors who inhabit this space. Here, you’ll
find acting of the highest order even by
characters who literally appear in just one scene.
In the end, Soni is an unflinching and an ultimately
disturbing film which doesn’t offer any easy answers but sure makes an effort
to change the way we perceive the rampant corruption and chauvinism around us.
Don’t miss it!
