What Is The Story About?
Disney Plus Hotstar original film ‘Freddy’ centres on socially awkward dentist, Dr Freddy Ginwala (Kartik Aaryan), who has a hard time finding his soulmate. All hell breaks loose when he finally does – the much-married Kainaaz Irani (Alaya Furniturewala). What follows is a twisted tale of love, betrayal and dark revenge, with drastic happenings.
Freddy is directed by Shashanka Ghosh, written by Parveez Sheikh and produced by Balaji Telefilms, NH Studioz and Northern Lights Films.
Performances?
Kartik Aaryan is superb as the shy, mild-mannered Dr Freddy Ginwala, who transforms into Hell’s Angel when provoked beyond breaking point. Kartik Aaryan nails both personas with effortless ease, and in an organic, fluid way. Alaya F as Kainaaz Irani is passable. Karan A Pandit as Raymond is laughably caricaturish. Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal’s cameo is a pleasant surprise.
Analysis?
Dr Freddy Ginwala, in Disney Plus Hotstar’s Freddy, is a shy, unassuming, and socially awkward man, who is finding it hard to land a wife. His characterisation is in perfect synch with the woes of the community he belongs to in the film – the dwindling Parsi community of Mumbai. As per 2013 statistics, one out of every five Parsi Indian males is unmarried by over 50 years of age – a whopping 20% of marriageable Parsi males. Which makes setting Freddy in the backdrop of the Parsi community perfect for the story. What is not perfect, however, is playing on the quirks of said community – an example is the Raymond character’s distinctly caricaturish Parsi accent.
For most of his adult life, Freddy has been labelled ‘creep’, ‘freak’ and similar names. His mannerisms add to his creepiness. He has a weird shuffling gait; he cracks downright dumb jokes that never land; he’s overweight – maybe from all the ‘faloodas’ he guzzles down while waiting for reluctant marriage prospects to show up; and the worst – he has a cleavage fixation. To add to his woes, he has only one friend in the big, bad world – a turtle named Hardy.
Given all of the above, it’s a windfall for poor, socially awkward Freddy when a pretty young lady named Kainaaz reciprocates his feelings for her. Only hitch – she’s married. Freddy finds a dark, twisty way to overcome that hurdle. The move unleashes a side to him that even he doesn’t know existed. Interestingly, all of it happens in a seamless, organic way. And Freddy’s metamorphosis is complete.
The transformation part of the narrative is largely believable and convincing. Even in real life, you never know what ticks beneath the quiet, unassuming, introverts amongst us. It is the ‘how’ that is the problem in Freddy. The movie takes irrational liberties with the script in ridiculous ways. If pulling the wool over the Mumbai police’s eyes were so easy, then many a Indrani Mukerjeas and Maria Susairajs of the world would have literally gotten away with murder. But our Freddy gets away with more than murder. Enough said about the plot, lest we end up giving spoilers.
Despite the dubious plot, Kartik Aaryan‘s performance makes it all worthwhile. He gets into the skin of the character until it’s hard to tell the actor from the character. It’s a solid performance from Kartik Aaryan, this. Freddy is a well-made film, overall. If only the script was tighter and devoid of loopholes, it would be a top-notch film.
All said and done, Freddy deserves to be a one-time watch for certain, if only for Kartik Aaryan’s creepy avatar.
Music And Other Departments?
Pritam’s music for Freddy is eminently listenable. The songs are nice and may find a place in many a playlist. Ayananka Bose’s cinematography is good, though the colour pallette is excessively dark.
Highlights?
Kartik Aaryan’s performance
Drawbacks?
Sloppy script
Too many implausible things happening in the film
Did I like it?
Yes, but with reservations
Do I recommend it?
Yes, but strictly as a one-time watch, and only for Kartik Aaryan
Freddy Movie Review by Binged Bureau