Sonali Cable

Sonali Cable is a movie meant for the common man, the aam aadmi or the mango people as it is hep to call them these days.  It is one story that represents the millions of small business owners across the length and breadth of this country.  And to see a story written about one of these in a positive light is definitely one thing that they got right.

The second thing right about Sonali Cable would be the performances of the key characters.  Starting with Rhea Chakraborty whose Bollywood debut last year was yawn worth.  But as Sonali Dattaram Tandel, Proprietor, Sonali Cables, she shows that there is always room for improvement – and a massive jump at that.

From playing just eye candy and furniture in Mere Dad Ki Maruti, Rhea’s second movie pivots her into not just a lead role but also the central role.  She could well do with a lot of accent classes – which is the one place she fell short even in MDKM – but what she lacks there, she more than makes up with confidence and her capability to emote.  There are a couple of points where you genuinely feel that she has grown as an actress.

The third thing good about Sonali Cable would be a couple of songs such as Gannu Rocks and Cheenti Cheenti Bang Bang (along with the end credits).  Unfortunately, I could not find anything else worth mentioning as exceptional about a movie that could have done so much better.  Sigh! The story of commercial Indian cinema.

Sonali Tandel runs a small broadband cable company whose existence is threatened thanks to a new MNC player called Shining Internet.  Shining is headed by an Indian who goes by the name Vaghela (Anupam Kher) and is nothing short of ruthless.  He resorts to every trick in the book including killing one of Sonali’s boys.

Sonali’s boyfriend Raghu (Ali Fazal) is a 60% partner in her venture thanks to a hand me down from his politician mother who is called Tai (Smita Jaykar) by all.  Sonali has built her business from scratch all by herself but finds herself trapped between the ambitions of politicians and large conglomerates. But she doesn’t stop fighting.

Having got the framework of the story right, a little bit of research from the team could have converted Sonali Cable into a really good movie.  Instead, we find gaping holes in execution and gaffes galore.  The movie could have well been cut down by 15-20 minutes at least.

But at the end of the day, what doesn’t go right for Sonali Cable can be captured in two words – Charudutt Acharya.  The writer of movies such as Dum Maaro Dum and Nautanki Saala! In his directorial debut would be single handedly responsible for the end product.  I cannot find any other explanation for stalwarts like Anupam Kher making rank fools of themselves in cheap comic roles like these.

Sonali Cable is definitely a one time watch for the good things that I called out earlier. Watch out for Rhea Chakraborthy in her upcoming movies and I am told she has 2 already in the pipeline.  With some work we are looking at a possible star in the making.  Watch when it comes onto Tata Sky or TV.  5 on 10.

Watch the trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16eO825kAmg