But what I feel is happening right now, does not do justice to the legacy left behind by an incredibly talented actor. The rest have every right to troll me in the comments section below. Maybe at the end of this piece, I hope true SSR fans agree with my views.
But as a movie buff and someone who loved Sushant Singh Rajput's selection of films, I have to be honest to myself here. Ranvir Shorey's gruff show of obstinacy and belated realisations hits all the right notes.Īshutosh Rana's silently simmering rage, linked to a massacre most unfortunate, is one of his most effective performances in recent time.With the above headline, I am sure I am entering into a very risky territory when it comes to populist sentiment. Once again, Bhumi Pednekar proves her mettle in playing characters defined by integrity and nerve.īajpayee's wisdom and wit sets the tone for Sonchiriya's allegory on moral ambiguity and atonement. The little vulnerability he preserves amidst the grime is the heart of Sonchiriyas's meditative madness. Sushant Singh Rajput's understated turmoil and compassion perfectly captures the guilt and fatigue of a man fighting apparitions and seeking salvation. One that is bleak and inaccessible - and not always because the language spoken is thick Bundelkhandi - until you see the craft in it. Sonchiriya is an entire mood within a movie. How it colours minds making them unable to judge anything outside its diktats is most conspicuous when it drives a wedge between Thakur-Gujjar colleagues. Often, Sonchiriya's narrative draws parallels between nature's food chain and hierarchy of India's woeful caste system. The extent of sickening patriarchy she encounters forms a significant core of Sonchiriya's socio-political commentary. Women are treated as a liability by movies of this genre, but Indumati is both a carrier of and catalyst for conscience.Įntrusted with the reason why the movie is named Sonchiriya in her care, Indumati represents a strength that will take any number of blows to protect her beliefs and do the decent thing. It's a solid introduction to her spirit and story that unravels gradually but hits most hard. When we first meet Indumati (Bhumi Pednekar) she is multitasking between a girl, ghoonghat and a gun. On the run, the rebels - still processing the losses they have incurred - come across a chance to redemption. Its minefield of volatile impulses and brewing unrest comes alive in Sharma's meticulous screenplay Meghana Sen's watchful editing, Benedict Taylor and Naren Chandavarkar's Morricone-evoking background music and Anuj Rakesh Dhawan's immersive, superlative camerawork at every step of its relentless chase between outlaws and cops. Though he is far removed from the ways of ghar-grihasti, he is respectful of rituals and customs.Ĭhaubey and his writer Sudip Sharma throw in a quaint gesture to underscore it nicely. The pack's leader Man Singh (Manoj Bajpayee) - in a clever nod to his character from Shekhar Kapur's Bandit Queen - follows a polite protocol and seems sincere in his desire for minimum causalities. The year is 1975 and Indira Gandhi's declaration of a state of Emergency reverberates across the radio even as a band of baaghis announces its unwelcome arrival at an unsuspecting wedding. If one faction of this group (Sushant Singh Rajput) is looking for redemption, another (Ranvir Shorey) is stuck in the rebellion rut. When a character quips, ' Sarkari goli se kaunu mare hai? Inke toh vaade se mare hain sab - behno aur bhaiyon,' it's coming from a place of long harboured indignation.
These outlaws or baaghis (rebels), as they address each other, are resentful products of a failed system and dead duck promises made by people in power. Its inflaming presence can ignite a revolution against tyranny, but eventually when disenchantment sets in, the violence will wear off, the spark will burn out and a man will seek closure over conflict. His stark, steely, stirring insights into Chambal's dacoit community examines the cost of dharma and daredevilry through the prism of psychological flux.
That they could be damaged individuals bound by a code whose skewed morality and dangerous demands are gently corroding their souls is what makes Abhishek Chaubey's Sonchiriya one of the most fascinating takes on the subject. In Hindi cinema's grossly glamorised portrayals, dakuS are either rifle-totting, horse-riding Robin Hoods dispensing justice or brutish plunderers going after wealth and women. Sonchiriya is an entire mood within a movie, feels Sukanya Verma.