Freddy Review: Kartik Aaryan surprises you as he delivers a chilling and career-defining performance
Freddy Movie Review Rating: 3.5/5
Riding on the humongous success of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022), Kartik Aaryan has come up with his new film – Freddy. Instead of landing in theatres, the film has opted for a digital route and premieres on one of the leading digital platforms Disney+ Hotstar. Aaryan has cemented his position as one of the most bankable actors in Bollywood. So, whenever there is a film featuring him in the lead role, audiences’ expectations soar automatically. Freddy, which also features Alaya F in the lead role, created a huge pre-release buzz thanks to a chilling trailer that dropped a couple of weeks ago. Now that the film has finally been released, let us find out whether or not it meets the high expectations of the audience.
STORY: Freddy Ginwala (Kartik Aaryan) is a shy self-centred dentist who is on the lookout for his soulmate. He is not very lucky when it comes to dating as he is routinely turned down by women. But Kainaz (Alaya F) enters his life as a breath of fresh air. He falls for her when she visits his dental clinic for tooth extraction and also for her sob story about being tortured by her abusive husband Rustom (Sajjad Delafrooz). But Freddy has a different fate in mind for his lady love after he comes to know the real truth about Kainaz. What happens next forms the crux of the story.
HIGHS & LOWS: Kartik Aaryan loves to surprise himself and his audience with every performance. Though the actor has mostly played happy-go-lucky characters before, none of them looked similar. In Freddy, he experiments with his character yet again and comes out victorious. He sheds his regular chocolate boy image to play an eerie character in Freddy and does a marvellous job. Freddy is unlike anything he has done before in his career and delivers one of his career-best performances.
Alaya F also impresses you with her performance. It is her second film but she looks quite polished as far as her acting skills are concerned. Her character in Freddy is quite layered and Alaya portrays every shade of it convincingly. She definitely has a long way to go. Sajjad Delafrooz also pulls off his characters well and so do other actors as well.
The credit goes to director Shashanka Ghosh for taking the best out of his actors. The filmmaker has previously helmed such notable films as Veere Di Wedding (2018) and Khoobsurat (2014). He deserves applause for trying out something new with Freddy and completely nailing it.
With a runtime of two hours and 13 minutes, Freddy does not look stretched and that is the best part about the film. There is this reveal at the interval and the climax that is going to heighten your experience of watching the film.
FINAL VERDICT: Freddy is an out-of-the-box film where Kartik Aaryan brings his A-game to the table. The actor proves his versatility yet again and does justice to the tag of being one of the most bankable actors in Bollywood. The film gets a little predictable towards the end, but it still manages to hold your complete attention and deliver a bone-chilling experience before the credits roll. Overall, Freddy is an unmissable watch. Since it is available digitally on Disney+ Hotstar, you can watch it from the comfort of your home at any time. I am going with 3.5 stars.
Watch Freddy trailer:
MOVIE CREDITS
Banner: Balaji Motion Pictures, NH Studioz, Northern Lights Film
Director: Shashanka Ghosh
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Alaya F
Runtime: 123 Minutes
