Aarya Season 3 review: Sushmita Sen retains the crown, despite a somewhat jumbled empire

3/5

Sherni (Sushmita Sen) has made a comeback, and this time she intends to put an end to everything. Aarya, the don, wants to exercise complete control over the drug operations so that she can safeguard her children. However, a tale of retribution and Khan's (Vikas Kumar) determined pursuit become obstacles that are impossible to overcome.

By the end of the second season, we see Aarya pointing a gun at her illegitimate father (Akarsh Khurana) and eventually killing him with no intention of doing so. We learned from the two seasons that Aarya's family has wronged her throughout the entire time, and the people she believed to be her family are actually her mortal enemies. She is a mother who will go to any lengths to protect her children, and for that, she has become the new don who smokes opium, threatens those who don't obey their orders, and makes her mind work in such a way that she can fool anyone in a jiffy.

The third season has only four episodes released as of now, and one part of the story is complete, which was teased at the end of the second season. After Aarya and Maya (Maya Sarao) "accidentally" kill Nandini (Charu Shankar), her husband, whose face wasn't revealed in the previous season, is finally shown. Sooraj (Indraneil Sengupta) comes into the picture to avenge the death of his wife. Thus begins the war between two parents who will cross limits to protect their respective children.

ALSO READ: Aarya Season 3 OTT release date: When and Where to watch the Sushmita ‘Sherni’ Sen-hit series online

The four episodes get gripping but slowly lose their plot too, making it come together only towards the end. Indraneil's character will remind you more of his climax sequence from Kahaani when he is finally shown as Milan Damji and gets his fate met in the hands of Vidya (Vidya Balan).

Watch Gadar 2 on OTTplay by subscribing to the Jhakaas pack which provides access to 16 OTTs at just Rs 199/month.

But Aarya's claws are out, and they're sharper than ever. She thinks from her brain and believes more in practicality. When Veer (Viren Vazirani) asks her if she is going to sacrifice Roop (Shweta Pasricha) for a consignment, he asks her if she should sacrifice him or the family. There's calmness, but she knows that it's never a choice for her to lose her family.

In the same scene, Aarya also says that a protector has to become a monster too, and Sampat (Vishwajeet Pradhan) says both are part of the same coin. There's an eventual monster in the making, but there's only a glimpse of it shown in the first four episodes.

The third season of Aarya plays out at a frantic tempo, giving the impression that space has been cramped and only less can be explored. The plodding pace at which things are happening leaves no room for new stories to make their way, so we are kind of stuck in a loop. As a result, several supporting stories are shortchanged.

There's an introduction of a new female don, Nalini Sahiba (Ila Arun), who has a different track with the Russian mob in the drug cartel business. Her angle gets somehow incorporated into the story, and we witness more killings than business deals were expected. The impact of wielding a gun is minimal as of now, and we have to watch how two women get on opposite sides in the big, bad world of drug cartels.

So, there's a lot to take in but not much to remember, which is the biggest drawback for the show. By the time I reached the third season, I had to stress my mind to think about the characters that died, who killed them, and for what reason?

How did one cop Khan (Vikas Kumar), who was a friend, became the biggest obstacle, and Sushila (Geetanjali Kulkarni), who harassed Aarya in the second season, became one of the trusing aides. The change of human intentions is so quick in the series that it's clear the show is having trouble developing its own story and weaving it thoroughly.

Having said that, no one apart from Sushmita Sen could have shouldered the series the way she did. Her sense of aura and her presence of taking no nonsense anymore from anyone are so tantalising to watch that she makes you fixated on the screen without any blinks. We are yet to see her hold the sword and roar at her enemies, as the story has not ended yet.

In the meantime, Ram Madhvani's direction gets lost in translation, but not in showing Sushmita Sen as the towering personality that she is. However, other characters kick off with an impactful plot only to get minimalised by the end of it.

Sooraj (Indraneil) takes up charge as the main villain of this season, only to have similar sequences to that of Kahaani as mentioned above. Nalini Sahiba (Ila) is also yet to be explored. Sikandar Kher, the infamous Daulat, is shown getting a new "romantic" angle, which doesn't seem to have any sort of importance to the plot.

The kids in the show, Veer (Viren), takes stride in bringing the calmness his mom Aarya has with a new mission of his own. While Arundhati (played this time by Aarushi Bajaj) had more opportunities in the second season, she had little to offer this time. It seems like every season there's going to be importance given to each kid, like the first season had Aditya (Pratyaksh Pawar) having PTSD from witnessing who killed his father, Tej Sareen (Chandrachur Singh).

After a few couplets, Arundhati's poem on sacrifice doesn't make much sense, but the yogic chants that come and go provide a calming background. However, the retro music that kept the moments lightened up was a miss this time. I hope it finds its way into the second part.

Aarya still doesn't make for an earth-shattering series, so to speak. But its gripping narration by Ram Madhvani and top-notch performance by Sushmita make the series unmissable and totally watchable even for the third season.

Aarya Season 3, though it loses its plot to some degree and also lacks character depth, manages to captivate with Sushmita Sen's compelling performance this time too. The pacing for this season feels a little rushed and leaves little room for newer narratives.

ALSO READ: Aarya 3: To me, the very name Aarya ONLY means Sushmita Sen, says Vikas Kumar | EXCLUSIVE