Freddy review: Kartik Aaryan's naive sociopath act feels helpless in a screenplay as bad as a root canal

2.5/5

Dr. Freddy Ginwala (Kartik Aaryan) is an uncomfortable and introverted man who longs to find his soul mate. When he does find her (Alaya F.), the connection is as unpleasant as a root canal.

It was 2004 and the movie was Fida, where we see Shahid Kapoor getting the biggest shock when Kareena Kapoor, the love of his life, gets out of a shower with Fardeen Khan. The biggest twist that comes out of nowhere in the Ken Ghosh directorial changes the whole plot of the film, and so does Shashanka Ghosh's Freddy. The filmmakers with the same last name thought alike when it came to creating a thriller and shedding the "chocolate boy" image of the lead actors, Shahid Kapoor in 2004 and now Kartik Aaryan.

Freddy, a thriller, explores the life of an introverted dentist named Dr. Freddy Ginwala, who paints toy planes, has only one friend, a turtle named Hardy, and drinks only Falooda while visiting a restaurant to meet girls via matrimonial websites. He is an orphan with a troubled childhood, so aunties in his community keep a check on him every now and then to know if he is doing fine.

The whole set-up of Freddy being this intriguing character might make you wonder why he is like this and doesn't fight the world. But here is a man who is comfortable in his own space and expects a soulmate will find him and complete him. Although naive, in no time he comes off as a creepy stalker who stares at a woman's cleavage, whether they have come to meet him as a potential suitor or a patient. This borderline sociopathic behaviour gives a hint that this man can be bad news too.

The plot is quite interesting until the intermission block arrives and makes it yet another revenge story. The teasers were deceptive, and you might wonder if it's a dentist-plus-serial-killer plot. However, it's much more underwhelming than that and goes haywire just after an hour of its runtime.

Without a grip that the cast can hold, the plot becomes wafer-thin and overly predictable. However, it's quite interesting to witness a change in Kartik, and he will make you stay with his character for a longer time. However, none of the other cast members contributes to this effort.

The two-hour-long film is divided into two parts. One makes up a story about how a dentist's life is turned upside down by a small mistake he made and how he plans to get things back to normal by doing the most dangerous things. Kartik in the titular role keeps a very innocent and naive face throughout, but the fire ignited in him takes the course of the rest of the film, which looks believable despite the modern times we live in.

The sadistic pleasure that each of the characters has in seeking revenge might have looked good on paper, but it was plain funny and laughable in many instances. For example, the character of Raymond Nariman (Karan A. Pandit) as Kainaz Irani's (Alaya F.) boyfriend is just reduced to a caricature. After a point in time, his dialogue delivery seemed offensive, as it doesn't start with a Parsi accent but heavily relies on it later. At the screening, the moment he started coming on screen, people started laughing, knowing that some stupidity was going to take place then and there. Well, he delivers, and although I wouldn't have been able to describe it in one word, a cop does it by calling him a "protein shake."

Alaya F, who made her debut in 2020 with Jawaani Jaaneman, looked promising when she forayed onto the big screen. However, the character just doesn't do justice to the potential that we saw about two years ago. The actor, with a vengeful and selfish motive, felt more like a series vamp, and it was not good enough to entertain or leave you intrigued. Even the disturbing camera work, which shows close-ups of her beauty, such as her perfect teeth or toned legs and cleavage, is disturbing. Her change from an abusive wife to a vengeful single woman is too easy, and her appearance shows this more than anything else.

Kartik Aaryan as Freddy has given his best performance in his career. The actor learned about the project and completed the assignment as requested. Even the tiniest details, which might seem unimportant, are handled perfectly and make an impression. The film, however, does not entirely do justice to the character, which is the biggest drawback to what Kartik left to seek.

Even while portraying the lover boy image, which the actor has done before, there's something visibly new that he brings to the table that is, so to say, surprising. There's a scene just at the start of the film where Freddy is being questioned about his age, as he mentions 28 on the matrimonial website, and the girl claims he looks much older than that. It's also admirable to see how he went through a physical transformation for the role.

Freddy was directed by Shashanka Ghosh, who also directed Plan A Plan B for Netflix this year. Parvez Sheikh, who co-wrote Darlings this year, penned the screenplay. But it's the screenplay that is the weakest link in the whole film. The linear format, the characters, the runtime—everything has been in place—but it's the plot with a climactic interval that takes away the highs that it was set out for. The last ten minutes make it interesting but don't deliver the punch that the whole film needed. Even the dialogue by Aseem Arrora doesn't help the film in any way.

Ace cinematographer Ayananka Bose explores the hidden bylanes of Mumbai, which is mostly Matunga, the heart of the downtown part of the city. Those vintage buildings and even the spooky, haunted-looking farmhouse in Karjat have been captured well by him. However, the part that brings more cheer to people is shown very gloomy, setting the wrong vibe for the city it's meant to be, especially Marine Drive. Rajat Poddar, who is the production designer, does a great job in creating the houses, which give off immense Parsi vibes.

Pritam Chakraborty, who has been the music director of the year in Hindi, is also the composer of Freddy. The two songs from the film, Kaala Jaadu and Tum Jo Milo, have quite a charm that you might want to add to your playlist.

Freddy has so many plot holes that even Kartik Aaryan's performance isn't enough to save the film. The actor can save the movie, but the latter doesn't share mutual feelings.

Thriller films can lose the charm they create because of the predictability factor. With the interval revelation, the rest of the plot of Freddy is easier to figure out, and the attempt to make it an edge-of-the-seat thriller nullifies badly.