Soni (2018) User Reviews

Thought provoking , sympathizing and brilliantly directed

[lionel-nie · 8/10 · 20 January 2019]

Hitting , thought provoking and realistic . Soni primarily revolves around the fearless , honest and yet in some sense - gentle lives of a police officer named soni and her boss kalpana who is very caring about her subordinates .

The movie has successfully attempted to show the lives of police officers in a city like Delhi especially the women police officers . The vulgar language , Eve teasing and the harassment that they need to listen , the unrealistic protocols that they need to follow and the pressure and injustice that the suffer from. Despite being highly sincere and motivated , the officers struggle in their system . Soni, on top of her professional struggles , also undergoes struggles in her personal life which takes a toll on everything that she does. Their lives takes them through existential crisis too. The direction , cinematography and acting of the protagonists is extremely brilliant . A few scenes were a unnecessary drag but overall quite good

Implicitly , soni also in a suttle way , talks about the hardships in the life of a women , disrespect and cliched behavior that the men show to women , and the safety of women in capital Delhi

Sensitively handled & well executed film

[amanrajabali · 8/10 · 5 December 2019]

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!!!

An honest and sincere Police story.

[MaverickV · 8/10 · 19 January 2019]

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.

Behold the truth of our country,INDIA!

[harryjhun · 10/10 · 18 January 2019]

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.

Must watch if you love superior cinema.

[mohinderchugh · 30 January 2019]

I hv recenltly watched soni movie on netflix .This movie is very good example how good director can make a very good cinema on such a simple subject with all unknown faces but good actors. Cinematography is very good specially the way camera moves with the characters. Cameraman in not indian and he has done a superb job even if he might not be aware about our culture. Camera is one of the characters in the movie.The movie is about women empowerment. All the actors soecially female actors have acted exceptionaly. Director stuck to his viewpoint. He could have added some more details in story and made it interesting for common movie goers. But he focussed on his way of story telling and those who love good cinema will find this movie very interesting and engrossing. I would strongly recommend this movie. In case you donot appericiate good cinema you may find this movie boaring.

Realistic portrayal of a strong woman in Delhi Police Force.

[reachmallya · 6/10 · 20 October 2018]

"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.

Honest and brutal masterpiece

[i_odin · 9/10 · 22 January 2019]

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.

Rally good but not without some irritants

[user-161-409787 · 7/10 · 8 July 2019]

Solid stuff. Sincere thanks to Ishan Parashar for the recc.

I have said this before and I'll say it again that you can watch films from the world over, marvel at different cultures, the technical ability, the novelty - but a film concordant with your views on what a good film feels like in your mother tongue is really something else. And watching something understated and (at least relatively) subtle like this really feels like a breath of fresh air after grinding it out with a flurry of masala films.

So the film is essentially defined majorly by three situations where our protagonist Soni, a Delhi cop, faces dilemmas that are similar in nature and we witness the consequences she faces for making what is arguably the right choice. Further, via her interactions with a superior officer and sequences where we follow Soni home (God that sounds creepy), we come to learn about the trials and tribulations in her daily life, and multiple problems plaguing women in India are brought up in this fashion.

The first thing to say is that I felt it dealt with the issues it sought to ruminate upon with impressive eloquence and empathy (which is a word being thrown around a lot when talking about this film, and justifiably so). I also loved the way it was shot and edited (stylistically similar to some of my all-time favs), performances (especially from the lead pair) are very strong, and the characters are well sketched out.

But some things don't work. There is a subplot (Soni and Praveen) that is merely mentioned and then dropped completely. While it is an understandable choice and it could be argued that it would serve as a deviation, I really felt it was pretty bothersome because it gives the scene where it is brought up a cryptic but irritating quality. There are also some other shots that I rewatched but am rather sure do not go anywhere and contribute little. I would generally blame it on my lack of understanding but it felt a little unlikely that was the case here. The resolution is also irritatingly rushed and disappointingly convenient after the good job Ayr does at building a slight but constant sense of tension.

In closing, I just think it is unfair that some people I know have been rolling their eyes at this film because the word feminist is often thrown into the conversation about it. It does seem it has become a dirty word for some :3 But make no mistake, this is a humanist film in fact, and deeply so.

A subtle, honest and hard-hitting portrayal of women in Police

[Manish_Jha · 10/10 · 19 January 2019]

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.

Police soap opera with a '#MeToo' message

[euroGary · 7/10 · 28 October 2018]

Police Sub-Inspector Soni makes her first appearance in this film as bait in an 'Eve-teasing' sting operation: as she cycles, in plain clothes, along a dark city street, an oik cycles up beside her and starts making suggestive remarks. He follows Soni into an alleyway where her police comrades are waiting, but before they can arrest the man Soni starts to beat him with perhaps more force than is necessary. This leads to her being reassigned to the police's call centre (in echoes of another film shown at the 2018 London Film Festival, Gustav Möller's 'The Guilty'). Meanwhile, Soni's immediate superior, Kalpana, tries to convince *her* superior - whose romantic partner she is, handily - to reinstate Soni back to her squad.

As the film progresses we get a view of the everyday casual harassment the film-makers present as the lot of women in India: for example, as Soni is being shown the call centre ropes, a male caller ends his call by asking the female operator for her personal telephone number. Soni and Kalpana also have personal troubles: Kalpana's relationship with her partner/superior is put under strain due to her efforts on Soni's behalf; and Soni herself has to deal with her boyfriend trying to get back into her good books after betraying her at a terrible time.

Soni and Kalpana are interesting central characters, and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan is particularly good as the former. I would perhaps have appreciated a stronger central plotline - the film strikes me as being a loosely-woven collection of plot threads - but it was certainly well worth watching.

Slow moving and very long scenes

[nadkarnipb · 5/10 · 23 January 2019]

Soni has a good plot line and exposes an important part of Indian society - the plight of women. However, it suffers from overly long scenes and the plot moved very slowly. It takes a lot of patience to watch this film because it progresses so slowly. Then acting is good and the storyline is an important one, but it is too long for what it offers.

Subtle, smooth and meticulous

[rakshitwadhwa · 9/10 · 21 January 2019]

Subtle, smooth and meticulous. This movie captures nuances unlike most Indian drama movies. It's a slow paced but not at all dry drama about two female cops trying to steer their lives in the system, and patriarchy. All the characters are effortlessly natural. This drama makes you feel sad about our state of society, but doesn't overdo it. Scenes are long and organically merge into next ones with no abrupt context switches at any point of the movie. You may be disappointed if you are searching for some blazing guns. This one is close to everyday reality of female cops. The ending could have more heroic turns, but that could have derailed the natural progression of the movie. So kudos to writers for not giving in to cliche of Hindi cinema, and keeping it simple and tight. It's a very closely knit, no bs movie. If you are from North India, you probably will relate to it at some level.

An ordinary firebrand woman dealing with her demons

[manugw · 7/10 · 25 January 2019]

Soni is a short fused young single woman who cannot control her hot temper, she overreacts to male teasing, in both her personal and professional life. She is also a cop in a precint in New Delhi and her activities encompass dealing with petty violators and neighborhood problems . As a result of her wild behaviour, her superiors began inquiries. To this point, Soni problems seem to be clear, but, the film shows also that she lives alone and is unable to keep a relationship with men. Her former boyfriend returns to visit her, a good man she has dumped and who is begging to be accepted again showing commitment for the future . Then comes the viewer internal debate, are her reactions right or she has a psychological problem ?. The movie is compelling and the acting is great.

Waste of time

[sirazum-munir · 1/10 · 26 January 2019]

An overrated movie. There is no story in this movie. Very slow & boring.

Slow & Steady.

[sunilkingdom · 10/10 · 19 January 2020]

This one mesmerises you with the pace, slowly rising to the occassion. Both Soni and Kalpana have their battles which is not on display, but present. The best part of the movie is the way it engages the audience, where at one point, you also become part of the story. The subtle absence of background score, at times, makes you forget the difference between reel and real. Hats off to Ivan Ayr for this piece of brilliance, and to Geetika and Saloni for living this so well!

Need more content like this

[CineRenaissance · 16 February 2019]

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.

Good movie on women power

[dy38493 · 7/10 · 26 February 2020]

Good movie to watch for especially set in delhi where crime rates are high but this movie deals with a very important subject on women go and see it for.

Best from Netflix India and one of the finest feminist films

[Jithindurden · 9/10 · 25 July 2019]

A brief look at two female police officers from Delhi that simply shows their daily life struggles depicting how women in India survives the patriarchal society. The realism and the subtle and powerful performances makes it a cery hard watch and it constantly reminds you of all the things that you see around and considers normal as harrowing incidents for many. It took me some time to actually process the ending. The half told history and the experiences culminating and changing their lives in a manner that it is small and bog at the same time. This is probably the best thing Netflix India has done so far.

One-Line Review: Soni (7 Stars)

[nairtejas · 7/10 · 23 July 2019]

Soni (given Punjabi name in India) is a tough watch about a firebrand young police officer's attempts to cleanse the society from patriarchy and male menace that is threatening the very existence of peace and harmony; unfortunately, there are no answers and this crime drama highlights it while just about hinting a possible way. TN.

Masterpiece

[faizkhan658 · 10/10 · 23 January 2019]

Everyone is so perfect. It's too pure,realistic & raw. It's world-class cinema. Hattsoff to entire team for making this kind of film. Do watch it now.

Recommended one-time watch

[omkar1984 · 7/10 · 11 April 2019]

A no-nonsense depiction of problems faced by the women, in general. Highlights the corruption and misuse of laws by both police and the civilians. Personally, I liked the sombre tone of movie.

Extremely slow

[cindydsilva · 5/10 · 17 February 2019]

We randomly picked this movie and watched it with an open mind. But it was too slow for me and I did not find any significance in some of the dialogues there. I wanted to quit watching the movie half way through but then decided to forward the boring talks a bit and finally reached the end. Though I got the end, the strong woman still wound up with a lower level job because of her temper. That shouldn't have been the end is all I'm saying. I didn't find the ending worth the patience I tried to give it due to its tortoise pace.

Life of Genuine COP !!

[abhisingh02 · 10/10 · 2 December 2019]

One of the best movie I have watched in recent years. Beautifully shot, many scenes feels like you r watching a real scenario.

Both main characters are extravagant. If Hollywood has Unbelievable then Bollywood has SONI.

Must Watch!!

The hard work of a policewoman

[DogePelis2015 · 6/10 · 23 January 2021]

The performances of the cast are good and the subject presented is interesting; however, it is not very entertaining or exciting.

Few scenes were good... Overall poor script and boring

[ashokshanmugam-56074 · 4/10 · 15 March 2019]

Slow narration should be gripping not boring. Once in a while the plot gets interesting then the director kills the tempo. The director should be sadist. He doesn't want the viewer to be happy at any cost.