Tabrez gets trafficked girls on the Love Sonia sets to meet his actresses

By Gautam Batra

on September 01, 2018

Some filmmakers take baby steps to success while Tabrez Noorani is all perfection in regards to his directorial debut Love Sonia. The cast of the film experienced the real-life encounters to get into the skin of the character as there are certain characters which need preparation beyond workshops and such are the characters of Love Sonia that required real-life experiences from real life professions of the character. Hence, Tabrez went out of the way to get trafficked girls on the set while filming for Richa Chadha, Mrunal Thakur, Freida Pinto and Riya Sisodiya’s character.

Richa Chadha shared, "Growing up in a normal family with access to health care and education, as a girl I am already a minority. But when I heard the stories of what these girls had been put through in their own words, I was overwhelmed. I knew it was a life-changing role, in the sense, I'd never be the same after playing it. I was moved and shook. They inspire me. Their hope inspires me."

Mrunal Thakur who plays Sonia in the film expressed most horrifying experience from Love Sonia and shares dark side of flesh trade.

She said, “This journey began in Kolkata where I met sex workers and saw the life they live in. It was extremely sad to hear their backstory as to how in the first place they ended up in such trade. We also met trafficked girls who were initially shy and didn’t open up but later shared such incidents to which I was shaken up and couldn’t get it out of my head. The good part was that we could welcome them into our world of filmmaking and let them see a whole new life. They were flown to Mumbai and I still remember how happy they were to sit in an aircraft for the first time. We shot the most part in their presence as Tabrez would never give us dialogues to learn, there were situations given and we would improvise with the help of the ladies. I have immense respect for them from bottom of my heart to help me do this to perfection.”

Director Tabrez Noorani said, “From day one I wanted this film to be honest and authentic. It was therefore important to me that the actors were given as much information as possible. When I could have them meet trafficked girls or people whom we were portraying in the film I did that. I wanted them to absorb the surroundings that the movie took place in as well. The more research the better, and the actors all embraced this process.”

Love Sonia is the shocking story of a young Indian village girl played by Mrunal whose life is tumultuously and irrevocably changed when she gets entrapped in the global sex trade while trying to save the one person she is closest to, her sister.

The film has a strong ensemble cast starring Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadha, Rajkummar Rao, Sai Tamhankar, Adil Hussain, Anupam Kher, Demi Moore, Mark Duplass with Freida Pinto and introducing Mrunal Thakur and Riya Sisodiya.

Love Sonia will hit the cinemas on 14th September 2018.