System Review: Sonakshi Sinha, Jyotika’s Courtroom Drama Tries Too Hard To Sound Serious!
System starring Sonakshi Sinha, Jyotika and Ashutosh Gowariker is directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwary.
1.5 / 5
We are living in times where social dramas have become a common genre in films and series. Well, it’s always a good idea to have more of them. But it’s equally difficult to make the narratives impactful. A new drama titled System has recently been released on Prime Video. It stars Sonakshi Sinha, Jyotika and Ashutosh Gowariker, and the film is directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwary. System attempts too hard to be critical, but unfortunately, it lands nowhere in the genre. The film struggles with several plot loopholes, but that’s not the only issue. Here’s a review.
Plot
Neha (Sonakshi Sinha) is a public prosecutor and the daughter of a renowned lawyer, Ravi Rajvansh (Ashutosh Gowariker). Neha’s father challenges her to win 10 cases as the prosecutor and prove herself worthy of the position of a partner at his firm. Jyotika’s Sarika is a stenographer. With Sarika’s help, Neha wins her first case and then extends an offer to work with her on further cases. Sarika agrees as she has a young daughter and a handicapped husband to feed.
It’s Neha’s last case that becomes a turning point in her life. For her 10th case, she faces her father in the court, but Neha also discovers shocking truths that lead her to question justice, the system and human behaviour. There is a plot twist in the climax.
What Doesn’t Work?
Story
I had multiple thoughts while watching the film. What disappointed me the most was the convenience with which the story is narrated to us. Firstly, System deals with several themes, like gender discrimination, a flawed justice system, commentaries on the helplessness of commoners, and female friendship. However, it hardly manages to make any of it effective.
In the first hour, the plot is moving at a lightning speed to give us a brief idea about Neha’s life as a prosecutor, how she is only trying to get enough experience to prove her worth and the cases she lands. But everything looks staged instead of being an organic form of storytelling. There is also an unnecessary addition of a love interest in Neha’s life, which does nothing for the plot. Neha’s character is not a well-defined one, as I found myself doubting her abilities because we are not given enough reasons to believe she is capable at her job. Despite the first half of the story being only about Neha, we absolutely forget to engage with her character due to the shallow writing. Neha and her father’s conversation only sounds like a philosophical podcast. Nobody talks like that, and the supporting characters are badly written. Also, the story follows familiar conflicts like a woman trying to prove her calibre while her brother gets everything easy, or an annoying brother and a drenched-in-pride father character, but it does all this without much conviction. Neha’s friendship with Sarika builds around this time, but there is a sense of distance that is felt throughout. There is a random song sandwiched in the film to show their bond, but it’s unnecessary.
The POV of the narrative suddenly changes in the second half. Neha gets her big case, and during the investigation, when she learns about some shocking truths, those shockwaves never truly reach us. The courtroom arguments are so dull, and the entire second half seems rushed. While the themes that the film wanted to explore had their heart in the right place, the terrible execution disappoints. The kind of reaction that System wants to evoke in the end fails to happen because the plot never really focuses on diving deep into the characters. It just wants to check all the boxes of being a serious drama!
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Performances
Sonakshi Sinha has done strong roles in the past, and she fits the character of Neha, a lawyer, perfectly. The actor has done a good job in making her screen presence memorable, but she can only do so much. Jyotika, another great actor, makes Sarika’s grey character quite watchable. But I wished the writing for Sarika’s character was as powerful as it had great potential to deliver the thrilling twist that the film was headed towards.
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Verdict
Sonakshi Sinha and Jyotika’s film System is an unexciting watch. The two female leads have put their best foot forward, yet again; however, their characters are undercooked, and so is the film’s narrative. There is not much in the plot to make it engaging or even enough to leave you with any food for thought. While the themes are honest, the film in its entirety fails to do justice to them! It’s currently streaming on Prime Video.
First Published: May 22, 2026 1:10 PM
