Freddy Review - Kartik Aaryan Shines In A Male-Pleasing Revenge Thriller That Was Earlier Used As A Femme Fatale

Shashanka Ghosh's thriller, Freddy, starring Kartik Aaryan and Alaya F, did not reveal anything from the teaser. It was just like an introduction video, and then there was no trailer to give us even a little idea about the story of the film. I would say the makers' decision was right. Having a trailer for a thriller like this would have spoiled many things before watching the film. You start watching a film with no idea about the story and literally no expectations, and then suddenly thrilling aspects take you by surprise. If you remember watching old Hollywood's femme fatale noirs, then Freddy might seem like an adaptation of the same, but then the second half changes a lot for the film. It's a much-wanted male-pleasing thriller that goes into a plausible revenge zone after the outdated femme fatale formula in the first half.Freddy (Kartik Aaryan) is a dentist. He is a shy, coward and unconfident guy who finds it difficult to deal with the girls. The only friend he has is his little turtle. It's been 5 years on the matrimonial site, but Freddy hasn't found a perfect match, or rather, is rejected by many girls. He meets Kainaaz (Alaya F) at a party and approaches her, only to get kicked down by her husband. You can predict it even in dreams that Kainaaz and Freddy slowly fall for each other. Madly in love with her, Freddy is led towards a crime he may have never thought about all his life. But does his so-called soulmate really love him? Or there will be a big game behind it? Freddy is stunned by the conspiracies, and then decides to go for a revenge that nobody could trace.Written by Parveez Sheikh, Freddy is not a full proof story. It has many loops that you have to overlook for the sake of our hero's victory, which is a must in mainstream cinema. It doesn't matter how easy it looks, "Hero toh aakhir mein jeetna hi chahiye" formula is followed blindly. Like mentioned above, Freddy is a Femme Fatale drama in its first half (that's a major spoiler, I believe). If you have seen films like The Maltese Falcon (1941), Double Indemnity (1944), and Out of the Past (1947), then you'll find many similarities in the plot and the characters. Unlike Body Heat (1981), Freddy makes you feel sorry for the male character, while the dumb remake of Double Indemnity made William Hurt look so dumb against Kathleen Turner. It's just that typical Rita Hayworth type of female acid formula, with some Indian and Parisian brushing.The investigation scenes aren't that accurate, and the characters, either, aren't that smart. The only thing that makes Freddy relatable is the protagonist's honest outburst against the bad world he was living in all alone throughout his life. If you don't feel it for the hero, then the film is zero. Body Heat and many other femme fatale dramas from the 40s and 50s lacked that. Freddy has it, and in a respectable amount. The screenplay has made all things look so easy that you start questioning our trustworthy legal system. If you are a regular watcher of Crime Patrol and CID, then you know how smartly and accurately the murder investigation is carried out. If a man is dead and the property goes to his wife, then the first suspect is the wife. The second thing that scares the s**t outta criminal is "phone call records." Freddy just doesn't exist in the same world, that's all.Kartik Aaryan shines in this dark thriller. Shine, Dark, no no, I'm not playing with the words, but cent percent true. I like this Kartik Aaryan, who is balancing commerce and art equally. After outright commercial films like Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Luka Chuppi, and Pati Patni Aur Woh, he had to do something for the actor in him, and he did Dhamaka for that. It doesn't matter if it's an OTT release; the performance remains the same. Continuing the same tradition this year, he had Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and now has Freddy. Try to understand the chronology (not a meme). He has done a fabulous job as Freddy, and this, for me, stands out as his career-best act so far. This Freddy shivers; he isn't macho enough, but his brain does things for him. Kartik carries the entire film on his shoulder and sets a bar for himself. We all know commercial films are only made to make money and celebrate stardom, no matter how mediocre the content or the star's performance is. Kartik has erased that image with Dhamaka and Freddy. No matter how good he was during the monologues in those box office hits, they were simply not performance-oriented films. I just hope he maintains the pattern in the future. Alaya F looked more confident, and the glam appeal is higher as well. Surely, she is improving, and the femme fatale role provides her with a perfect vehicle to explore various shades. The supporting cast is a big letdown, as the actors couldn't even deliver the dialogue properly. Uff that chilled-down accent and cheap appearances.Technically, Freddy is a challenging film, and that's why it had a high scope. Somewhere, the level is not up to the mark. I was expecting a little more. And not to forget that you guys are gonna watch the film on small screens of mobile, laptop or TV, while I was lucky enough to catch it on a big screen, with air conditioning on high cooling giving me more reasons to quiver. You would miss that atmosphere, and that's why find it underwhelming. The background score and cinematography seemed better, though. Shashanka Ghosh had a lukewarm film like Plan A Plan B, but Freddy isn't that cold. It has some really good scenes that invent a new formula, a new answer to the outdated femme fatale tales. Let's call it a "Male-Pleasing" thriller. We don't really get many as such. It would be interesting to see how Kartik's female fans react to it. Overall, an above-average film, boosted by Kartik Aaryan's best performance to date.