'Aarya' Review: It's Sushmita Sen all the way in this slow and slightly predictable show

'Aarya'

Cast: Sushmita Sen, Chandrachur Singh, Namit Das, Sikander Kher, Manish Chaudhari, Ankur Bhatia, Alexx O'Nell, Sugandha Garg, Priyasha Bhardwaj, Sohaila Kapur, Flora Saini, Jayant Kriplani, Pratyaksh Panwar, Viren Vazirani, Virti Vaghani, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Vikas Kumar

Director: Ram Madhvani, Sandeep Modi and Vinod Rawat

Duration: Nine episodes

Where to Watch: Disney+ Hotstar

'Aarya' Story:

Aarya Sareen's blissful family life is jeopardised when greed consumes her loved ones. With crime as her legacy, can she escape from what she hates the most?

'Aarya' Review:

Sushmita Sen! These two words were enough for me to get attracted towards the show despite not knowing the plot and other details about Aarya. Then the trailer came out, again it was Sushmita in this strong character and also one role which she is incredible off-screen too. Yes, a mother. The show is about Aarya, but there are a lot of people who shape Aarya for what she is. 

The show starts by showing Aarya as a loving wife and a doting mother, who knows about the legacy of her family with a criminal background. Well, her husband is also trapped into it and she is not in favour. Her, husband played by Chandrachur Singh is another visual delight who with his sweet and charming talk make him too good to be a criminal. However, her life starts breaking into pieces in quick succession and completely into shambles. 

We have been shown a huge family of Aarya which include her separated parents and her father (Jayant Kripalani) having a young girlfriend (Flora Saini) while her mother takes the route of alcoholism. Aarya also has siblings - brother played by Ankur Bhatia and sister Priyasha Bhardwaj who gets married to Alexx O'Nell. The wedding is the place where everything ugly is witnessed amid happy time in the family.

A tragic can make or break a person and it does both to Aarya. She has to clean up the mess made by her family and also by protecting her kids who are at a vulnerable age. 

Aarya is backed by the kickass supporting cast especially Vikas Kumar, who plays the no-nonsense cop, Khan. His scenes, especially with Sushmita, are amazing to watch. Ankur as this rich spoilt Rajput, who actually thinks everything is fair in love and especially war. 

Sikander plays Daulat, the right-hand man to Aarya's father and the most trusted guy in the family. Whereas Manish is the perfect antagonist one can ask for who is helpful but with a vicious motive. 

One more actor who surprised me the most is Namit Das. As a weak and cunning Jawahar, Namit has been giving delicious scenes which he has performed incredibly well. 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 on Jun 18, 2020 at 2:21am PDT

Aarya is slow and slightly predictable but Sushmita's luminous presence and beautiful performances make those one-hour episodes acceptable and watchable. She will remind of Samay: When Time Strikes her 2003 films wherein she played the role of a tough cop. 

She is shown as a mother to her three kids, who themselves go through a different journey and are forgiven instantly. 

The Bhagavad Gita references, the 70s songs, there are so many instances when the show become apt but not at a good pace. 

Like I mentioned earlier, Aarya is watchable but predictable. The show is an official adaptation of Dutch series titled Penoza which I haven't watched or heard before.

It can be touted as a mini-series with a complete justice done to the story and each character as well.

'Aarya' Verdict:

Aarya is of Sushmita Sen for Sushmita Sen and by Sushmita Sen!