Aarya review: Brilliant portrayal of strength in adversity

Aarya, featuring Sushmita Sen, is the latest web series which depicts the power of a woman when cornered by unfavourable situations in life.

The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.”.

This quote by Matthew Henry sums up the whole essence of the Disney+ Hotstar Special which has been adapted from Dutch drama series Penoza by Pieter Bart Korthuis and American series Red Widow.

Story

Aarya (Sushmita Sen) faces a terrible situation which forces her to take up matters into her own hands and protect her children Veer (Viren Vazirani), Aaru (Virti Vaghani) and Adi (Pratyaksh Panwar). 

Certain clashes in business between Aarya’s brother Sangram (Ankur Bhatia), her husband Tej (Chandrachur Singh), and their common friend Jawahar (Namit Das) lead to many skirmishes resulting in dire consequences. Sangram ends up in jail, and Tej is shot at by hired goons.

Now Aarya is left with no option but to dive into this business, which may have been a front for smuggling drugs, to save her family from the clutches of a drug lord, Shekhawat (Manish Choudhary). 

Performances

Undoubtedly, Sushmita Sen’s second innings has begun on a glorious note and it’s fascinating to discover that she carries the same zeal and enthusiasm when it comes to acting. She leads the whole series quite diligently and her emotional outbursts exhibiting various shades that encompass her character are blemishless and extraordinary. 

Sen is ably supported by the rest of the cast including Chandrachur Singh, who has limited screen presence but gives a very real and authentic performance.

Positives

The background score creates a huge impact on the whole narrative and for this, Vishal Khurana, Siddharth Basrur, Delraaz Bunshah, and Anurag Panwar along with the entire team deserve a special mention.

Equally praiseworthy is the writing by Sandeep Shrivastava and Anu Singh Choudhary. The story is very relevant and makes a strong statement on family ties, conflicts that arise due to various misconceptions, and lack of communication between family members.

Above all, a major chunk of the cake goes to the creator and director duo Ram Madhvani and Sandeep Modi who went through many ordeals to release the final product amidst challenges posed by Covid-19. Aarya, no doubt gives more strength, power, and confidence to all those single mothers out there.

Moreover, the philosophy around Bhagavad-Gita is explored quite exponentially and the concept of Fusion Raaga Studio based on nuances of life and death from Gita is simply amazing. This philosophical touch has made the narrative more meaningful.

Negatives

The reason behind the attack on Tej is off tangent and feels quite flimsy. Even ACP Khan’s character feels incomplete in view of several loose ends surrounding his personal preferences. These things should have been handled in a better way so that the coherence in proceedings was maintained effectively. 

Worth it?

Sushmita Sen’s sensible performance is the key factor and needs to be watched to get a glimpse of her immense talent and a charm that remains intact even after so many years. Aarya and her children are going to win many hearts with their never say die attitude and an lethal fighting spirit.


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