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Bollywood was not getting enough of the brilliance of Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boy, starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, that came out two weeks back. Now they have another brilliant movie to talk about in director Abhishek Chaubey's Sonchiriya. The movie brings back the genre of dacoit dramas from the '80s. Sushant Singh Rajput and Bhumi Pednekar play the leads, while the movie also stars Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey and Ashutosh Rana. Sonchiriya Movie Review: Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey Are Marvellous in Abhishek Chaubey’s Stunning Dacoit Drama.
Though it is about dacoits, Sonchiriya doesn't delve into the images of daakus riding on horses that Bollywood often fantasises them into. Instead, the film presents them as flesh-and-blood beings who have to face their own fears and insecurities, and above all, sins of their past actions. Redemption plays a huge role in the film, as each main player seek it through the metaphor of Sonchiriya (the golden bird). Sonchiriya is also one of those rare mainstream movies that discuss how caste and treatment of women affect our society in large. Moreover, the movie also scores well in the technical department, with the cinematography, action choreography and sound design getting aces from us.
We loved Sonchiriya and here are the 10 scenes in the film that stood out for us. Needless to say, HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD!
Wedding Home Encounter
Man Singh (Manoj Bajpayee) leads his impoverished gang to loot a wedding home. The scene has a couple of hilarious moments, like Man Singh asking Vakil (Ranveer Singh) to give the bride a gift. Things take a serious turn when the rebels realise that it is an ambush, as Virendra Singh Gujjar (Ashutosh Rana) and his police team try to shoot down the rebels. There are some terrific action shots set to the beats of Vishal Bharadwaj's "Baaghi Re", though the scene ends in a tragic note with the death of Man Singh. Sonchiriya, Ek Villain, Baazigar – 13 Bollywood Movies Where a Main Lead Gets Shockingly Killed Before the Interval Point (SPOILER ALERT).
The Escape From the Doctor's
Indumati (Bhumi Pednekar) is on the run from her family members, with a little girl who has been raped by one of her clan. Lakhna (Sushant Singh Rajput) and the rest of the gang take her and the grievously injured girl to a doctor they know, along with their own injured comrade. At the doctor's, they find out the girl belongs to a lower caste, creating quarrels among the baaghis. However, the fighting doesn't last long, as the cops lay siege on the house. It's only because of Lakhna's quick thinking that allows his gang to escape from there. But in a darkly comic turn, they leave behind their injured gang member who is presumably killed by Virendra.
The Mexican Standoff
At a village where the gang rests, Lakhan and Indumati find out that Vakil revealed to her family that they have with her. Indumati gets slapped by her own son and dragged by her family members to be punished, as her helpless husband (Jatin Sarna) watches on. Lakhna, however, threatens them to stop resulting in a Mexican standoff between hi, and his two loyal aides, Vakil's men and Indumati's family, that results in the death of Vakil's brother.
The Flashback Sequence
In the beginning, we see that both Man Singh and Lakhna are haunted by ghosts of their violent past. We find the reason for this in a flashback scene when the gang is seen infiltrating Virendra's village to search for a traitor and Man Singh and Lakhna end up accidentally killing several children. It is their repentance over these murders that define their actions in Sonchiriya. And this is also the reason why Virendra holds a personal grudge against them.
The Fight At Beni Ram's
Lakhna and his two men stay the night at a close aide called Beni Ram, along with Indumati and the survivor. There, in the night, Beni Ram approaches Indumati with the intention to molest her, but she overpowers him and ties him up. She alerts Lakhna and his pals, who take down the rest of Beni Ram's goons. There is a terrific tracking scene where Lakhan and his friends try to take down one giant of a man. While they emerge victorious in the end, the victory is short-lived as Beni Ram kills Natthi, one of Lakhan's pals, with a hidden knife.
Vakil Singh Finds Out The Secret
Vakil Singh and his gang seek out the informant who gave information about the first heist that killed Man Singh. After manhandling him, the informant blurts out the truth - that Man Singh knew all along that he was going into an ambush. He only did so to seek retribution for himself for what he did to those kids, and wanted Fate to determine whether he or his gang members deserved to live. A remorseful Vakil now realises that Lakhna had not betrayed them and seeks out to help him.
Meeting Phuliya
After capturing Beni Ram, Lakhna and co seek out the dreaded Phuliya in the hillocks, whose name we keep hearing throughout the film. Inspired by the real-life former outlaw, Phoolan Devi, Phuliya is seeking out vengeance against Beni Ram who had once violated her. When Lakhna gives Beni to Phuliya, she takes out all her anger on him by repeating hitting him with her gun even after he is dead. Though the violence is not shown, Phuliya's anguished screams and the sound design say a lot. Later, Phuliya and Indumati have an insightful conversation about how women don't belong to any caste, which is only aimed to serve the men.
The Final Encounter
Virendra and his men catch upto Phuliya, Lakhna and their gang, killing many of them and trapping the rest behind the ruins. The little girl, whose name is revealed to be Sonchiriya, looks to be dying, and at one point, Lakhna also looks to be giving up his life in the melee. However, the girl opens her eyes, and help arrives in form of Vakil Singh and his men, who take down the police team. Lakhma, Indumati, Vakil and the girl escape from there, but Vakil gets shot down by a sniper. As he dies, he tells Lakhna that he found his repentance and asks him to escape from there.
Lakhan's Sacrifice
Lakhna manages to bring Indumati and Sonchiriya to the hospital, where he and the little girl share a poignant moment. As he waits outside, Virendra and the surviving cops arrive there. At first, he decides to go for the last stand. But he drops the plan and goes to face Virendra, who promptly shoots him down.
Virendra Gets His Comeuppance
Throughout the film, there are two policemen, who belong to a different caste from Virendra, often complain about serving under him. When a victorious Virendra, after wiping away nearly every baaghi, is seen returning to his village in his jeep. At that moment, one of those aforementioned cops cocks his rifle and points it towards Virendra's face. The last scene we see is that of Virendra's stupid grin before the screen fades to black.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2019 08:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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