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Todo el cine que viene de la India no es Bollywood, ésta particularmente es una peli fantástica sobre el papel de la mujer en un mundo de hombres, y aunque Jonathan Demme ya habló de ello en la de los corderos, aqui se muestra de una forma muy realista, casi en un estilo documental, con momentos muy dardennianos. Dos mujeres policias peleando en una sociedad totalmente marcada por el patriarcado más cerrado, y creiamos que por aqui lo teniamos crudo... ¡¡Magnifica y totalmente recomendable!!

Soni, 2018, Ivan Ayr

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Soni Review

January 21, 2019

by Inakshi Chandra-Mohanty

4/5 stars

It is very difficult to make a film about women empowerment without getting preachy. That is why filmmakers tend to make films with strong female characters but only as a supplement to the larger story, not as the story itself. However, Soni is a film about women. It’s about their daily lives, their struggles, and the small obstacles they face that amount to a larger problem of a patriarchal society. People assume that women in positions of power can be the strength for other women but at times, even they are helpless, and unfortunately this movie shows us the mirror of how deeply ingrained male chauvinism is in our society.

The film follows two women, Kalpana (Saloni Batra), a superintendent of police, and Soni (Geetika Vidya Ohlyan), a policewoman junior to her, as they and their team try to reduce crime against women. However, Soni’s short-temper in contrast to Kalpana’s rationality, cause obstacles in their mission. With minimal dialogues and a short runtime of 1 hour 30 minutes, the screenplay is concise and subtle. The director, Ivan Ayr, is focused less on building story and more on building atmosphere, through actions and expressions. The tension is not in the plot but is in the friction amongst the different characters. There are moments which are slow, but they work as an addition to this overall atmosphere of despair and discomfort. Ayr has created a universe that has very little light. The tone is supposed to be that of gloom, and the use of blues, greys, and blacks in the color scheme, give even the daylight shots a feeling of sadness. However, despite this bleak but authentic portrayal, there is a sense of relief that at least these women exist and try to make a change even if their efforts go in vain.

Both of these characters are prototypes of women we see in society today. Soni is the young, vivacious woman, marred with difficulties in her personal life, and eager to make a change by rebelling against the system. She has no control over her emotions and is transferred multiple times on charges of misconduct. Kalpana, on the other hand, is more experienced. She has seen how the system works, and how the world works, which is why she is more methodical in her approach. Soni and Kalpana’s bond is the thread that holds this film together. Geetika Vidya Ohlyan and Saloni Batra share such an amazing chemistry on screen due to their impressive, realistic acting skills. They are able to show the vulnerabilities of each character as they try to navigate the frailties of the system.

Both characters are so different in their personalities and approaches to their cases, but their lives are not much different. Soni has to deal with an ex Naveen, who made a mistake (which we are not aware of), but is now asking for forgiveness. He shows concern for her, yet there are times when he makes misogynistic remarks, like the idea that he needs to protect her after she is threatened, as if she cannot take care of herself. Kalpana’s life is not much different. Her personal life looks perfect on the surface as she has a loving family and caring husband that are supportive of her profession. However, there is hyper-masculinity looming around her. For one, her husband, also a police officer, constantly undermines her. He supports her, yet also claims that she as a female superintendent is not authoritative enough with her juniors, which is why Soni rebels. There is also her mother-in-law who constantly ask her about her plans to have children in the future and harps on about how she shouldn’t be working the night shift. But, the most impactful scene in the film, is when she, her husband, her sister-in-law, and her brother-in-law are discussing the misconduct of Soni. With casual tones, her brother-in-law and her husband laugh and talk about the situation. Her brother-in-law even goes on to say that women like Soni tend to come from homes where there is a lot of violence. His view is chauvinistic and stereotypical and Kalpana clearly disagrees with him, but stays silent, out of respect for the relationship, and knowing that her speaking up will just aggravate the situation.

It is characters and situations like these, which this film uses to show hypocrisy in society. Men who are supporting the rise of women to power are also trying to control that rise by imposing their thoughts and convictions on these women, without listening to them and trying to understand what they truly want. It’s not the men who are proudly patriarchal and demeaning towards women that are the biggest threats, but it is the men that are assumed to be progressive, but are subtly patriarchal in their thinking due to their upbringing and the people around them. Soni is important and impactful because is a stark representation of all that is wrong with our society. Solving individual crimes will not solve the problem of why these crimes happen in the first place. The mindset of people needs to change, and until that happens, women are not safe.

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