Love Sonia Review

Rating : 3/5

Love Sonia Story: Belonging to a drought prone village in India, a debt-ridden farmer (Adil Hussain) grapples with poverty and desperation. Despite the dire circumstances, his daughters — teen sisters Sonia (Mrunal Thakur) and Preeti choose to be happy. But their undying spirit takes a beating when the hapless father decides to sell off Preeti to a local landlord for money. Naïve and hopeful, Sonia sets off to look for her missing sister without anticipating the heinous repercussions. Her search drags her to Mumbai’s dark underbelly and entraps her in the horrific world of sex trade and prostitution.

Love Sonia Review: Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk has a scene towards the end where a blind man congratulates retreated British soldiers. Surprised by his gesture a soldier wonders, “All we did is survive.” To which, the blind man says, “That's enough.” Love Sonia acknowledges this human spirit of a teen girl, who endures unimaginable brutalities and yet, dares to live. Sometimes, survival is the biggest victory when you don’t have a choice.

Be prepared as Love Sonia is not for the faint-hearted. It isn’t an uplifting but a disturbing account that makes your stomach churn. Whatever can go wrong with the girl goes wrong and you watch the horror unfold layer by layer.

Director Tabrez Noorani doesn’t underplay the brutality of the issue at hand and doesn’t spare you the graphic details. Gruesome, gritty and atmospheric, his unnerving execution almost suffocates you. While various films have touched upon this issue, Noorani makes you take a closer look at reality, which is hard to fathom.

However, while the film works well on an awareness level and has a certain shock value, it isn’t emotionally compelling. The bond between the sisters isn’t established enough for you to feel for their separation. A powerful Marathi film Doghi, conveyed this emotion masterfully. Also, what bothers you the most here is the story’s deliberate and predictable nature. It doesn’t unfold organically. For the first few scenes, the girls seem like they are ‘acting’ naive. Situations look like they have been strung together in order to evoke a certain reaction and the manipulation is felt.

What then makes this film an honest if not a compelling attempt is its spectacular ensemble cast. Debutante actress Mrunal Thakur essays the unspoken resilience of her lead character with conviction. Richa Chadha in a significant role, proves her mettle as an actor once again and Rajkummar Rao shines in his crucial cameo. Freida Pinto plays her semi-delusional character well.

Love Sonia is an important film that’s told sincerely but it lacks the emotional depth of a provocative human drama.