Review: Soch Lo

Originally for AOLbollywood

Cast: Sartaj Singh Pannu, Iris Maity, Barkha Madan, Nishan Nanaiah

Writer and Director: Sartaj Singh Pannu

Music: Charu Moohan and Nitish Pires

Rating: **1/2

A love story

An injured man wakes up in middle of a desert, wriggles to the nearest stretch of road. He finds some water to rejuvenate himself. When he gains enough consciousness he figures out he can’t remember who he is and where he belongs. And neither can he recollect how he ended up in this desert. This sets the premises for an interesting thriller. And that’s how Soch Lo starts.

Soch Lo has a completely new cast and crew and has been made at shoe-string budget by Sartaj Singh Pannu. Most of the crew are new inexperienced film school alumni who have come together to make this film helmed by Sartaj, who put in his own money to make the film after he could not find any producer to do so. Promising start to both the venture and the story of the film!

Getting into the details, Soch Lo is an interestingly made project. The film has a story to it. It is story of a man (Sartaj) who can’t recollect his past. He finds someone who promises to help him once he helps the person’s family. Some action and scenes later this unknown man, now named Baba by his new found friends sets out to find out what happened to him. And he goes on unveiling things bit by bit. He realizes he was on his honeymoon with Reva (Iris) and he was attacked. On his journey he is accompanied by Pali (Barkha Madan) and they find a special bond between them.

Sartaj does a one man show

The film’s screenplay is written in a way that it requires the audience to apply their brains. Things are left unanswered but well placed clues for the audience to figure out the development chart. This should come as a pleasant surprise to the audience who has always cribbed about directors trying to spoon-feed the story. However despite this the film is quite slow, which is the single biggest drawback in the film. Also the dialogues are weak and should have been worked on.

Soch Lo has layers to it. The characters are well made and there are statements made on the middles class and the male mentality. The ending is quite tricky. Though the characters work out, the message does not exactly come out straight leaving too many questions. What’s remarkable is the way the writer brings out that there are no negative characters but only circumstances.

The film is shot extremely well. The outdoors and desert scenes especially are remarkably good looking. And the music is just right for the tone of the film.

Performances are stable though not extra-ordinary. Sartaj does well and so does Barkha Madan. Iris Maity plays the feeble wife. 

Overall, Soch Lo could have been faster and shorter. But it deserves acknowledgement for the effort that has gone behind making it.