A sensational climax saves this Kartik Aaryan thriller

‘Freddy’: Cast & Crew

Director: Shashanka Ghosh

Actors: Kartik Aaryan, Alaya F, Karan A. Pandit, Sajjad Delfrooz, Jeniffer Piccinato, Harshika Kewalramani, Tripti Agarwal

Available at: Disney+Hotstar

Duration: 1 hour 56 minutes

‘Freddy’: History

The lines between love and obsession blur in this romantic thriller. An introverted dentist (Kartik Aaryan) falls obsessively in love with a married woman (Alaya F) who is in an abusive relationship. He tries to save her and does something unimaginable. What happens next is packed with unpredictable twists and turns. Will the dentist be able to save himself? Does the married woman want more skeletons in her closet? Will the two finally be able to reconcile? Or is something sinister being planned all along? Well, for all that, you have to see the movie.

‘Freddy’: Performances

Kartik Aaryan is finally out of his comfort zone. He is no longer the chocolatey boy next door that all girls fall head over heels for. On the contrary, he has put on weight, closed the lid on his characteristic smile, dumbed down his hairstyle and above all lost all confidence to become a shy introverted dentist. While the change is welcome and he does well too, in some parts it feels like his inner creepy character is getting less priority and Kartik Aaryan is trying to push himself a bit too much to get it perfect. Unfortunately, it ends up being a bit too forced and unnatural. But overall, it’s great to see Kartik Aaryan try something strikingly different, finally.

Alaya F, which is only her second film, has done a decent job. She comes from a Parsi background and hence gets the nuances of the character much better than Kartik Aaryan does. She doesn’t need to have a fake Parsi accent to make the character look believable. To add to that, she has also put a lot of effort into perfecting her character’s transition from a damsel in distress to a heartless cold-blooded woman.

Karan A. Pandit’s fake Parsi accent is so overwhelming that you just want to scream at times, please shut up!

Sajjad Delfrooz has been totally wasted in a character that was just a blink and a miss.

The rest of the supporting cast doesn’t have enough screen time to even warrant a mention.

‘Freddy’: Script, direction and technical aspects

Shashanka Ghosh’s direction is the highlight of this film. The way he swings the audience between the two main characters, keeping you guessing until the very end as to who will ultimately end up winning, is amazing. The many twists and turns in the plot are sure to be something you will love. Honestly, the first half of the movie is completely boring and you’ll be pulling your hair out when you think about why you’re even watching this movie. However, the twist turns in the middle before the second half fully begins your thought process and now you are hooked on the movie wanting to reach the climax as soon as possible. It is this second half and the climax that save this film.

Parveez Shaikh’s writing looks predictable at the start considering it looks like an everyday love story. But the moment the second half begins, the writing picks up and Shaikh has filled it with many twists and turns that actually help to highlight the story.

Ayananka Bose’s cinematography is one of the few things that isn’t actually too big in the film. While thrillers and murder mysteries usually use dark backgrounds and dark scenes to create an exciting effect, in ‘Freddy’ there were quite a few scenes that weren’t that well lit and you wonder what’s going on. These might not be a hindrance when watching in a dark theater, but when the movie is released live on OTT, and the audience is sitting at home watching the movie, some of the scenes definitely look too dark to understand what is going on.

Chandan Arora’s editing could have been a little sharper. A few long scenes from the first half could have been cut a bit to allow more time for the twists in the second half.

Pritam is back with some great tracks for the film. Songs like “Kaala Jaadu” definitely hook you even after you finish watching the movie.

However, the background score by Clinton Cerejo is probably one of the weakest works he has done. He is usually one of the best BGM composers, but in ‘Freddy’ the score somehow didn’t end up transporting you the viewer into the middle of the story.

‘Freddy’: Can children see it?

Yes

Outlook’s verdict

While the first half of ‘Freddy’ sucks to the core, but once you are able to sit through it, a beautiful lotus blooms amidst the murky waters. Kartik Aaryan is definitely out of his comfort zone and somehow it doesn’t look good on him and it seems a bit too forced. However, it is a welcome change from the usual chocolate boy characters that he has been associated with for the longest time. Overall, had the second half and climax not been as exciting, this would have been a total dump. But fortunately it is not. It really is a good disposable watch. I’m going with 3 stars.