Film

Soni

Name: Soni
Genre: Drama, Crime
Released: 2019
Cast: Geetika Vidya, Saloni Batra, Vikas Shukla, Mohit Chauhan, Himanshu Kohli

Soni is a fierce portrait of two women in Delhi's police force fighting systemic corruption and violence against women. Shot in crisp, unflinching detail, it's a procedural that cares more about institutional rot than plot twists. For anyone who wants cinema that looks straight at power and refuses to look away.

TMDb rating

3.4

If you liked this

Article 152019

Another Hindi-language crime film that investigates India's caste system through a police investigation. Sharp social critique wrapped in a gripping procedural that doesn't soften its message.

But It's quite long and dense with backstory; the pace can feel methodical rather than propulsive.

Mulk2018

A courtroom drama about a Muslim family falsely accused of terrorism. It has the same commitment to institutional critique and the same refusal to make things neat or comfortable.

But The second half leans toward melodrama in ways that undercut the first half's quiet power.

No One Killed Jessica2011

A Delhi-set crime film about the impunity of the powerful and the women determined to challenge it. Darker and more cynical than Soni, but sharing the same fury at the system.

But It's a bit more conventionally thriller-shaped, which some find either a relief or a compromise.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Soni

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Spotlight2015

Both are films about institutional courage: ordinary people inside broken systems choosing to act, filmed with the same refusal to dramatize or sentimentalize what they do.

A procedural about journalists investigating institutional abuse. It has Soni's same belief that cinema's job is to show how systems protect wrongdoers and grind down truth-tellers.

But It's American and much more famous, so it may feel like a sideways step rather than a discovery.

Badhaai Ho2018

A comedy-drama about an older couple's unexpected pregnancy, it explores shame, desire and what society expects of women with real tenderness and wit.

But The tonal shift from comedy to sentiment doesn't always land smoothly; some find it slight after the opening premise.

Jai Bhim2021

A Tamil-language film about a lawyer defending a marginalized man against a corrupt police system. Methodical, angry, and structurally inventive in ways that echo Soni's approach.

But It's almost three hours and the institutional violence it documents is relentless and hard to watch.

Dark Water2005

Deepa Mehta's film about widows in India follows women trapped by patriarchal law with the same unflinching eye and the same commitment to showing systems, not just individuals.

But It's a heavy film about tremendous suffering; there are moments of gentleness but not many moments of relief.

Raees2017

A crime thriller about a cop pursuing a criminal kingpin in Gujarat. If Soni's institutional critique appeals to you, this offers a different angle on the same machinery of power.

But It's more conventional and action-oriented; some will find it less thoughtful about what it's depicting.

Natrang2010

A Marathi film about an aging theater actor. It shares Soni's interest in how institutions and traditions grind people down, just in a completely different register.

But It's quiet and digressive; if you want a clear narrative arc, you won't find one here.

Newton2017

A small, precise film about a poll worker ensuring fair elections in a conflict zone. Like Soni, it's interested in individuals trying to do right within corrupt systems.

But Its smallness can feel slight if you're looking for something weightier; some find the ending too neat.

Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 12012

Both anatomize how institutions—police, politics, family—fail women and the powerless. Soni whispers it; Wasseypur screams it. But they're asking the same questions about who pays the cost.

A Hindi-language crime epic about crime families and police corruption in Uttar Pradesh. It's rawer, grittier, and far more operatic than Soni, but animated by the same rage at systemic failure.

But It's nearly five hours across two films, wildly violent, and makes no attempt at restraint; it's almost a different aesthetic universe.

The Death of Dick Long2019

Both films trust the audience to be angry about institutional failure without the filmmakers spelling it out. Both show how the machinery of indifference is the real crime.

An American indie about a crime in a small town and the institutions that fail to pursue it. Darkly funny where Soni is grave, but obsessed with the same thing: how power protects itself.

But It's very American, very dry, and its refusal to condemn can feel evasive—some will find it amoral where Soni feels righteous.