Sonchiriya

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey, Ashutosh Rana

Writer/Director: Abhishek Chaubey

Producer/s: Ronnie Screwvala, Honey Trehan

Plot: Exploring the thug-life of Chambal, a group of dacoits get in a tussle with the local police

Sonchiriya Movie Review Rating: 4/5 Stars (Four stars)

Star Cast: Ranvir Shorey, Ashutosh Rana, Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, Manoj Bajpayee, Mahesh Balraj, Amit Sial, Jatin Sarna

Director: Abhishek Chaubey

What’s Good: It’s extremely easy to showcase scenic locations in your films and make the viewers wish to go there, but after this, I want to visit the ravines, no other movie has made the valleys look so attractive, the stalwartly performances by each and every one

What’s Bad: Many people will find it hard to connect with the narration and because of that few self-obsessed sites, will abandon the movie by labelling it as ‘European cinema’

Loo Break: If you’re in after knowing what the movie will offer you, you’ll not need any break but if you’re in to do ‘gulu gulu’ with your partner, just go out!

Watch or Not?: Please, do yourself a favour, if you have a taste of such films (The Dollars Trilogy, Django Unchained, Paan Singh Tomar) watch this one in the theaters

User Rating:

The universe of Sonchiriya consists of two kinds of people, dacoits and coppers. The gang of dacoits is led by Man Singh (Manoj Bajpayee) and he’s haunted by the ghosts of his past. The next aspiring leaders of the gang, Lakhan (Sushant Singh Rajput) and Vakil (Ranvir Shorey) make sure to protect their team from the police in a loot executed by Man Singh. When the things go south, the gang finds their way out from the city into the deep ravines.

On their way out escaping from the police, Vakil and gang have to let Indumati (Bhumi Pednekar) due to certain circumstances. They all get a reality check when the side of police gets stronger and are attacked by the natives of Indumati. Are they really running from the coppers or they’re running from themselves? The rest of the story explores the behavioural change of people who didn’t ‘want’ to be dacoits in the first place.

Sonchiriya Movie Review: Script Analysis

Abhishek Chaubey has made ravines look beautiful like never before. He creates this world and just expects you to get lost in it. Yes, you will get unexpected twists and turns with a heavy dosage of humour, but all of this comes at a cost. You’ll have to pay your undivided attention to enjoy what’s happening on screen. The ambiguous title Sonchiriya (apparently inspired from the rare breed of Great Indian Bustard) implies a great subtext to the ‘dacoit’ angle of the film.

Sudip Sharma & Abhishek Chaubey’s story scores brownie points by not going all serious. Sudip’s dialogues are deep as the ocean yet leave waves of waves of laughter throughout. Yes, for the initial few moments one may find the hindrance of the language but with the time you just get immersed to miss anything substantial. Talking about Anuj Rakesh Dhawan’s camera angles, he has tried everything. From downward sliding to tilted and zoom, Anuj has played with the angles to enhance the watching experience.

Sonchiriya Movie Review: Star Performance

When you have a movie like Sonchiriya, someone like Ranvir Shorey is the missing piece to complete your beautiful puzzle. He leaves no room unexplored when it comes to acting. From bursting into sudden laughter to screaming in grief, he has made it look so easy.

Sushant Singh Rajput expands his acting range with Lakhan. He looks a very different ‘actor’ compared to his previous works and pushes his bar to another level. Undoubtedly, his best performance to date. Bhumi Pednekar is here to stay for decades now! Even if she screams or not look like your run-of-the-mill heroine, you will adore her for every second she’s on the screen.

Ashutosh Rana somewhere falls a tiny bit of short in this hurricane of talented performances. He’s outstanding, no doubt about that but when you’ve 4 players of your team hitting a century, yours 99 might look like a little less. When Manoj Bajpayee’s performance was credited as a special appearance, it hurt. He had a remarkable amount of chunk, in which he nailed every dialogue. Still, he’s one of the best performers we’ve. From Bandit Queen’s Man Singh to Sonchiriya’s Man Singh, Manoj has covered many cinematic milestones in his career. Jatin Sarna delivers a controlled yet impactful performance because “Bunty, yahan chu*** nahi hai!”

Sonchiriya Movie Review Quicker: Set in the period of emergency, this Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar starrer starts with Man Singh (Manoj Bajpayee), leader of a dacoit gang, clearing the way for his team. As the story forwards, the gang of rebels decide to execute a loot in Bramhapuri.

The loot is tipped to the coppers and what follows is a skillfully choreographed face-off with the gang led by Man Singh. This encounter changes everything for the gang as they find themselves on the run from the police. Indumati (Bhumi Pednekar) finds a place in the gang and joins them in this run.

Anuj Rakesh Dhawan’s camera does all the tricks making the cinematography look so real and authentic. Well explored ravines and the mind-blasting background score just sets the mood right for the film. First Gully Boy and now this, Bollywood is finally mastering the art of silence.

The film is set in the 1970s and showcases a small town ruled and dominated by dacoits. Multiple gangs fight to attain power. The cast dons fierce avatars in sync with the theme of the film.

Shot in the valleys of Madhya Pradesh, apart from Sushant Singh Rajput and Bhumi Pednekar, it also stars Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey and Ashutosh Rana in key roles. This will be the first time Sushant and Bhumi will be seen starring together.

It is directed by Abhishek Chaubey, who earlier helmed films like Udta Punjab, Dedh Ishqiya and Ishqiya. It is produced by Ronnie Screwvala. Stick to this space for full review.

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