Love Sonia Movie Review: A strong sex-trafficking drama plotted with sincere intentions.

The harrowing lives of sex trafficking victims gets a realistic treatment in Tabrez Noorani's debut feature. What makes the drama more compelling is Mrunal Thakur's bravura performance as Sonia, the devoted sister who is ensnared in the sex trade while trying to find and rescue her sibling (Riya Sisodiya). Thakur rarely misses a beat as her character endures atrocities that are heart wrenching to behold. Along the way, she encounters the ruthless guy (Bajpayee) who runs his house like a ‘business’, the other girls with tragic back-stories, including one played by Chadha. And the well-intentioned Manish `bhaiya’ (Rao) who works with a NGO committed to the cause of rescuing and rehabilitating the women.

Director, Noorani, who has worked with NGOs to rescue victims, knows the world well enough to even touch upon the emotional trauma inflicted on the victims. It's here that Love Sonia scores over other sex trafficking dramas such as Lakshmi. The lies, the false assurances, the blackmailing all play a role in gradual breakdown of Sonia's spirit which is equal parts frustrating and fascinating to behold.

Brief cameos by Mark Duplass and Demi Moore here add little to the narrative and instead seem more like a means to show the good Noorani's earned in Hollywood. But these inconsistencies can't take away from Mrunal Thakur's work who essays the character with conviction, capturing its naiveté, guilt and fractured spirit adeptly. If you love Sonia by the end of it, it's because of her.

More focus on what happens to the girls when they are yanked from that life would have made Love Sonia fresher, and given the characters more to play with. That is not something we see too often, and there is a tiny glimpse of it in the film. The rest of it is same-old. It is a pity then that the filmmaker felt compelled to give it an almost a fairy-tale ending. The unconvincing twist is perhaps the biggest disservice to the film. Love Sonia is well-meaning enough to impress that point on you, only if it had the pause and depth that made you take the thought home.