New Delhi: If you're tired of Kartik Aaryan's standard romantic and comic portrayals, you are in for a pleasant surprise in ‘Freddy’, which premiered last night on Disney+ Hotstar. Shashanka Ghosh's directorial is a psychological thriller which can be touted as the actor's best performance of this year.
Kartik Aaryan is the only one to credit for Freddy's sinister and unpredictable behaviour since he delves beautifully into the character.
Freddy Ginwala played by Karik Aaryan is an awkward, loner dental surgeon. All he does is paint tiny aeroplanes and talk to his pet tortoise Hardy in his spare time. Since he has no other family, his aunt constantly worries about him.
In the opening scene, Freddy is at a restaurant waiting for his date. He has been a member of ‘merishadi.com’ for 5 years but yet no luck in finding a match. Nervous, shaky, hesitant and desperate to find love, Freddy believes that “Ek din mileage soulmate”.
The film moves forward at a very glacial pace but smoothly at the same time as it helps build up the story and describe the characters. Freddy throws no huge blows or scary disclosures at first. But it maintains its momentum and nevertheless succeeds in creating a good thriller, if not the best.
You can actually split the two-hour movie into halves. One concocts a tale in which a stoic dentist has his life turned upside down by falling into fake love, and the other one is where he plans to take revenge for the betrayal by resorting to extreme measures.
The plot wasn't as interesting as expected, but who doesn't like a narrative in which one lover seeks revenge on the other?
In the beginning, Alaya F's portrayal of Kainaaz Irani is effective, but she quickly loses any semblance of depth. You can witness her develop from an innocent helpless young woman in a violent marriage to a cunning thinker. Kainaaz's appeal lies in the fact that she has a more complex personality than Freddy.
What Alaya did was a nice effort overall. However, time will tell whether Alaya F is destined to become a classic Bollywood femme fatale. Also, supporting characters don't really make an effort to be noticed.
There is betrayal, then retribution, and the twist will make you gasp. The last sequences set up a satisfying finish and make watching the film worthwhile. Freddy, a shy doctor by day, transforms into a deadly criminal at night. The majority of the plot is made up of the unexpected turns that occur as Freddy and Kainaz strive to outdo one other.
Kartik Aaryan's fantastic unsettling performance is the film's standout. Even with a grey character, he maintains a remarkably childlike demeanour throughout, but the internal conflagration that he experiences is believable enough to carry the story.
The way Freddy enters Kainaaz's house and sets potholes to fall into - gives Sridevi’s ‘MOM’ vibe. The actor's spiteful and self-centred motivation made him seem like a serial vamp, and the performance fell short of being entertaining or intriguing. Neither his on-screen connection with Alaya F is very convincing.
Though, the actor has put in a lot of work to become Freddy, from changing his appearance to his mannerisms. His psychopathic depiction is a surprise for the fans. Kartik gets a special gold star for taking on a grey role and delivering a satisfactory performance.
Parveez Sheikh, who wrote the script paid greater attention to the detail of Freddy’s past which makes a lot of sense in why he is the way he is. Freddy is unable to have healthy romantic relationships with people of the opposite sex because of the trauma he experienced as a kid.
When he finally does that with Kainaaz, he does it hesitantly and with as much fear, and the liaison ends in more deceit and shame than he can bear. And it sets in motion a series of circumstances that awakens a dark and potentially deadly part of Freddy's character.
Freddy does not seem to be extended, nor does it veer from the intended path. Attempts to turn ‘Freddy’ into a nail-biting thriller fall flat as the climax was somehow predictable.
After watching this movie, one can say that there has been a welcome shift in recent Hindi films toward crime thrillers. Watch this film to see Kartik Aaryan in a whole new light!