New Delhi: ‘Soni’, which released on Netflix, has been making waves these days. The crime drama, which stars Geetika Vidya Ohlyan and Saloni Batra, has been directed by debutant Ivan Ayr. The movie chronicles the life of a woman police officer and her superintendent in Delhi Police. The two of them deal with the cases regarding crimes against women.
‘Soni’ director Ivan Ayr, in an exclusive interview with ABP News, talked about his debut project.
Excerpts from the interview
When you did develop the character of Soni?
The thought came to my mind in 2014. I had seen several interviews in which Delhi Police officers were asked what steps they were taking for protection of the people. I felt that a woman’s take on the entire thing was missing. I wondered how female police officers would view this kind of crisis. I felt that despite having power, a woman police officer can also be a victim of crime. I believe the view point of such a woman officer will be completely different. When I was writing the story, my producer assisted me in the script. I ensured that I discussed the script with her so that it doesn’t look one-sided.
We have seen characters like ‘Dabangg’ and ‘Singham’ in Hindi cinema. Did you ever think of glorifying the character of Soni?
I had already decided that the character would be a normal human being with flaws. I thought that I would show Soni as a person, who is honest in her approach but makes mistakes. I believed that if I keep the character simple, I would be able to build a connection with my audience. When we show the characters in our film as super humans, it doesn’t look realistic on the screen.
How easy or difficult it is to showcase the complexities of a character to the audience?
Writing a character is not tough but to present it to the rest of the world is quite different and difficult. Everything depends on how you have written a character. While developing the character, I forgot whether I was writing about a man or woman. I wanted to showcase that a person who doesn’t receive respect and dignity will get angry. I have written the story from the point of view of a human being irrespective of the gender and the viewers reaction has proved my decision was right.
‘Soni’ didn’t receive much publicity? People got to know about the film after its release. How do you plan to take the film to larger female audience?
Our budget was not high. ‘Soni’ was screened at several film festivals. We have made maximum use of social media to promote the film. Marketing for a film should have its own separate budget but I would not like to comment on it as my job is to make the film. Those who live in small towns might not have internet today but they will be able to watch the film in the near future because of technological advancements. I have not made a mainstream film. I believe in making films which leave an impression and remain fresh in the minds of the audience even after ten years.