Sonali Cable Review {1.5/5} & Review Rating
A smart and beautiful go getter girl wishes to put all her entrepreneurial skills in one basket. With time, tide and luck on her side, she has everything going for her... till the time her shining business gets invaded by 'Shining'! At this juncture comes the helping hand from her USA returned special friend. Is Rohan Sippy's latest offering SONALI CABLE strong enough to stand the test of time at the Box-Office? Let's analyze!
SONALI CABLE starts off with the young and vibrant Sonali (Rhea Chakraborty), who strongly feels that "To survive in Mumbai, you don't need a college degree: you need just guts!" Well, that's Sonali for you: on your face and unassuming. She, along with the help of a bunch of ghetto boys, makes a living out of providing broadband connections to all the households of her locality. Even though she is doing great for herself in the business, the politician Taai (Smita Jaykar) wants her son Raghu Pawar (Ali Fazal), who returns to Mumbai after doing his MBA from USA, to take it over from Sonali. Raghu, who also happens to be Sonali's childhood love, refuses Taai's offer but insists on working hand in hand with Sonali. Just as when Sonali seems to be dealing with this situation, she is faced with yet another gigantically challenging situation created by Waghela (Anupam Kher), the owner of the sophisticated broadband business named 'Shining Inc', a man who will not take no for an answer. Waghela's sole dream is to take over the whole of broadband service business in Mumbai. He not only poses a huge threat to Sonali and her 'already set' cable business, but also wants her totally out of the Mumbai territory as she is the sole hindrance to him in having a monopoly in Mumbai. The firebrand that Sonali is, she refuses to give in to the demands of Waghela, which forms the reason for an open 'WAR' between Waghela and Sonali, a war where only the smartest can survive! This 'war' gradually opens a can of worms in the form of the growing nexus between MNCs and politicians and other such matters. And it is during this time, when the smart Sonali attempts a sting operation in order to outshine the 'Shining Inc'.
Will Sonali be able to single handedly fight and win the broadband war against the gigantic 'Shining Inc', will Raghu Pawar choose his love over his mother's political interests and will the shrewd Waghela let Sonali own her broadband business despite her being an obstruction is his business expansion, is what forms the rest of the film.
Director Charu Dutt Acharya (who also doubles up as the writer of this film) makes his debut with this film. It is indeed sad to see this man struggle with this film at regular intervals. Despite having an interesting concept and good actors, he seems to have not got it right. Shaky camera angles at certain places, a boring first half that's doubled up with an insensible second half leads the film story to nowhere.
Of the cast, since it's an author backed role, Rhea shines in the role of Sonali. Even though she is only just one film old in the industry, one must say that she has a good screen presence and makes no mistake in befriending the camera. But, because of a faulty script, her character seems to have all the energy but no plan of action. The same applies to Ali Fazal, who, equally shines (if not more) in his role. Considering that the last film which he did was BOBBY JASOOS (where Vidya Balan was the lead) and now SONALI CABLE, it's about time that he avoids being stereotyped. Hopefully, his Hollywood outing (The Fast And Furious) should do the much required miracle for this sincerely talented boy and his career. Even the ever-dependable Anupam Kher seems to be a bit of a letdown in this role. He seems funny at the start but eventually becomes irritating to watch, with an ear bud constantly sticking out of his ear. The multi-talented Swanand Kirkire, despite having a short role, does a good job as the alcoholic 'Dattaram Tandel'. The surprise package of the film is however, the debutante actor Raghav Juyal, who cakewalks through his role of Sada. It's really nice and endearing to see Raghav, who has time and again proved his dancing skills in many TV reality shows, gradually move into films. The rest of the cast like Gabriella Demetriades (as Zooni), Faizal Rashid (as Bobby Bose) and others, hardly have anything substantial in the film.
The music (Ankit Tiwari, Mike Mccleary) of the film is nothing to write about. The only hummable songs of the film include 'Cheenti Cheenti Bang Bang' and 'Ek Mulaqat Ho'. The film, which could have upped its entertainment quotient, fails to do so primarily because its poor script and bad direction.
On the whole, SONALI CABLE is a weak film that can be skipped.
