Freddy movie review: A mediocre tale of revenge elevated by a terrific Kartik Aaryan

In a scene from Disney+Hotstar’s eponymously titled, Freddy, played by Kartik Aaryan, sits next to his only companion in the world – a tortoise by the name of Hardy. On the footsteps of his dimly lit house, he, contemplatively begins to dance. It’s an awkward mix of movement and gyrations compared to the staid, almost imprisoned quality of the on-looking tortoise. While Hardy watches on, Freddy finds lift-off in the arms of love, the wings of obsession and the bite of purpose. It’s a terrific sequence that though clichéd in some sense brings out the menacing side of a bulky Aaryan. Directed by Shashanka Ghosh, Freddy often fumbles for messaging and can seem far too straightforward to thrill, but sells its provocations well. Chief of which is a chilling turn by Kartik Aaryan as a doctor/sociopath.

Aaryan plays Freddy Ginwala, a dentist who also happens to be a man-child of sorts, and the product of a difficult marriage. His grandmother is possibly still his only friend and a tortoise helps him evade the stench of loneliness. He also, by the way, makes model aeroplanes and mumbles lines as most sociopaths in films do. Freddy is routinely turned down by women, stood up and sidestepped by macho men. The film doesn’t offer a deep portrait of fractured masculinity but it does attempt to unpeel a handful of layers. Freddy’s eyes land on the despairing countenance of Kainaz (Alaya F), a woman stuck in an abusive marriage. The protagonist possibly sees a fraction of his caged self in this broken woman and in her rescue sets out to carve his own.

The first half of Freddy is a bit of a messy incline, a straight-nosed launch into a love story that simply doesn’t feel authentic. Freddy’s infatuation is understandable, but never quite believable to the limits it is illustrated. It’s when the tables turn on Aaryan’s chubby, but problematic protagonist, that the film really gets going. After having gone to extraordinary lengths to attain her, Freddy is usurped, not by the forces of destiny, but by the very path he chose to walk. Aaryan excels in this part, as a jilted, but spiteful lover who doesn’t quite possess the toxic outlets of say, debauchery or drinking. On the contrary, he retaliates.

The film often lacks coherence in its use of side characters and plot points that could have used a sharper eye. There is hardly any chemistry between Alaya and Aaryan to chew off of, which renders the subsequent jealousy and angst, a tad superficial. Kainaaz’s boyfriend, the police and Freddy’s grandmother, all feel like accessories that are never quite used to eke solid narrative turns. Which makes you think if this could have been a better story had it been a lean battle of wits and all-consuming love between to love hounds. Instead, most of these tools are used to create noise that never quite amounts to a syncretic note of emotion or sensation. Even the tortoise, for that matter, is possibly underused.

What works for this film, however, is Aaryan. Allowed to stretch both literally and metaphorically, the actors is in fine form here. Creepy, unreadable and deliciously wicked at times, Freddy is an interesting concoction of scuppered childhood and scythed manhood. In fact, the film possibly underwrites Freddy, reducing him to provocations rather than intimate, charring contemplation. The character remains a mystery (despite routine backstories) by the end of the film, and while that might work for some, there were possibly layers that could have been written into the film. In a decidedly menacing scene, he tells Kainaaz nonchalantly, that he might have left a snake in her house. It’s creepy, terrifying and brazenly contrasts most roles the actor has attempted in recent times. He may not be the best fit here, but he gives it his all.

Aaryan’s trajectory has not only been staggering, but it has also confounded critics (myself included). His performances are only getting better, but what can no longer be faulted is his desire to do roles that surprise you. Freddy is unlike anything he has done and though it could have used a defter set of hands at the directorial wheel, a better set of co-characters, and a clearer sense of the tone – is it horror, is it noir- it still feels rewarding. Freddy also suffers from a case of confused messaging. Domestic abuse here becomes a ruse and by the climax, it is also idiomatically rationalised. “Women can tolerate pain better”, Freddy says in a rather blunt, and possibly debatable take on the idea of violence. It’s not a great time to be writing glowing reviews about characters that are jilted lovers, but as a frankly artistic pursuit Kartik Aaryan fits the shoes he so audaciously chooses to wear here.

Freddy is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Manik Sharma writes on art and culture, cinema, books, and everything in between.

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