Freddy Review: Kartik Aaryan and Alaya F’s performances elevate this story of love and betrayal
Planning to watch director Shashanka Ghosh’s Freddy this weekend? Read Pinkvilla’s review of this Kartik Aaryan and Alaya F starrer.
Name: Freddy
Director: Shashanka Ghosh
Cast: Kartik Aaryan,Alaya F
Rating: 3
Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar
Plot
Director Shashanka Ghosh’s thriller revolves around a lovelorn Freddy (played by Kartik Aaryan) - an under confident dentist who is looking for his soulmate. After many failed attempts and a couple of faloodas, he finds love in an already married - Kainaaz (essayed by Alaya F), who is stuck in an unhappy marriage. Like many love stories this one too comes with its own challenges, some really unexpected ones. How this unfolds and impacts Freddy and Kainaaz’s future is for you to see in the film.
What’s Hot?
What majorly works for the movie are two things - Freddy’s character graph, which you see coming but Kartik’s performance elevates the overall experience, and the other is the second half of the film which is gripping with the central characters experiencing a variety of emotions - resulting in many right and wrong decisions.
While director Shashanka Ghosh has executed these twists and turns well in the last sixty minutes of the film, what further supports this linear form of narrative is Director Of Photography (DOP) Ayananka Bose’s lens, and production designer Rajat Poddar’s designs, which coaxes you into the world of Freddy. The sequences - both romantic and terrifying ones - shot at Freddy’s farmhouse in Karjat look stunning on the big screen. Background score created by Clinton Cerejo helps the scenes extend its thrilling impact. Casting by Vaibhav Vishant is spot on, while action choreography by Amritpal Singh also works in the favour of the project.
What’s Not?
The first half of the film, which focuses a lot on Freddy and Kainaaz’s romance. In a thriller, one would expect the sub genres to evolve faster, thus making space for a more nail biting follow-up narrative, which Freddy is unable to do so. Story and screenplay writer Parveez Sheikh could have focused a little more in polishing this portion. Dialogue writer Aseem Arrora has made an attempt to make the lines relatable, however his words lose their soul along the way. Music composed by Pritam doesn’t connect too.
Performances
Kartik Aaryan’s character Freddy goes through diverse and dichotomic emotions in the film, and the actor portrays them beautifully on the silver screen. Alaya F too has an interesting character arc, which she amazingly brings to life in the movie. Other supporting cast have played their parts to the T as well.
Final Verdict
Overall, Freddy rides on performances and the gripping second half of the movie.