'Shut Up Sona' review: It's Mohapatra's statement against 'deify or denigrate'

We all have some people in our lives who appear omnipresent. They come all-guns-blazing each time they approach and you put your game face on to survive through the predicament. There are, then, some whose relative low-key presence is a delight and their existence, a weird assurance at the back of our minds.

When you think of music scene in India, Sona Mohapatra's musical presence definitely falls in the latter category. The artist may not meet you at every turn, but whenever you hear her voice, randomly or otherwise, you are forced to take a pause and take in all the creation.

'Shut up Sona', a documentary which depicts her art and as some would say, her 'flirting with controversies' is one-and-half-hours-long.

If you think 'Shut Up Sona' is an opportunity to 'check her out', you should probably stick to your late-night surfing of whichever websites you frequent with your VPN on. The documentary reveals a glimpse of Sona Mohapatra away from the limelight, letting us glean a bit into her thoughts.

In times when there is no telling talking about which religion would ruffle whose feathers, it's a delight to know that there are still few voices who believe in inclusive nature of our religions. 'Shut up Sona' brings us face-to-face with some such people as Mohapatra visits religious places. Some of the information that's revealed is bound to surprise us and question our conditioning due social forces over the years. Look out for discussion on Meerabai.

The documentary is peppered with her music of course, so you better watch it with good pair of earphones. Because it's quite soothing to hum the tunes with Sona. Better still, to guess the Raag if you are musically trained. Some of my favourites like Raag Sarang are very much there waiting to be heard. 

Mohapatra, in past, has not shied away from naming people and institutes. She is very much her own self in 'Shut up Sona'. 

Sometimes it's quite endearing to see her want to go all-guns-blazing only to be tempered by music composer and her husband Ram Sampath, who more than once comes across as the voice of reason.

On a tiny bit of downside about 'making' of the documentary, a few build-ups would have looked less predictable had there been better editing and better thought about placement of these sequences. But this does not interfere too much with the overall experience.
 
Is 'Shut up Sona' a woman's march that is trying to bring a revolution of sorts? The documentary doesn't appear to have such pretenses. It is, however, a much-needed revisit to and a statement against black-and-white 'deify or denigrate' tendency of India when it comes to women.

'Shut up Sona' is now streaming on Zee5.

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