Freddy Ginwala (Kartik Aaryan) is a, rather awkward, dentist who is trying, and failing, to find love. He goes to one failed date after another and is often subjected to ridicule from teenagers and conventionally masculine men. The film’s attempt at this study of masculinity remains contained in this.
Freddy might be Kartik Aaryan’s most experimental role yet and the effort doesn’t go futile because he creates a character that is equal parts pitiful and terrifying, never truly becoming a protagonist worth rooting for (this is not a hero’s story).
In a particularly chilling sequence, Freddy breaks into an awkward and disconnected dance routine as his pet tortoise (and best friend?) Hardy watches.
The main character’s foil is Kainaz (Alaya F), a woman trapped in an abusive marriage. Freddy rattles off a few questions in the “Why don’t you leave?” league. Once again, a line of messaging that could’ve delved into the convoluted nature of abusive relationships and the agency women possess is left hanging loose.
Alaya F as Kainaz is convincing for the most part, though her character soon becomes two-dimensional at best. The actor often matches Aaryan’s energy making their interactions together, in the film’s second half, gripping. Perhaps Alaya F is a Bollywood femme fatale in the making, only time will tell.
The issue with the film, directed by Shashanka Ghosh, lies in the story beyond the primary characters. Most of the secondary characters are caricatures (a particular character is nicknamed ‘protein shake’ because he’s physically well-built) and don’t have much backstory to support their roles. The two women in Freddy’s life, his aunts, are just present in the plot to ask him questions and motivate him.
The mark of a good thriller is that it outsmarts its audience and Freddy fails to do that; not because of predictability as most middling thrillers do.
Both Kainaz and Freddy grow into manipulative and cunning characters but soon start behaving like they’ve never even watched an episode of Crime Patrol.
A first half that is engaging for the most part gives way to a second half that is immersive but starts to get derailed with every passing minute.
It’s refreshing to see a female character who doesn’t exist purely to drive the male characters forward (credit where credit is due). However, Freddy doesn’t manage to sidestep the typical tropes that haunt women in thrillers – women tend to be shown in more brutal scenarios than men, their screams echo for longer.
Even a seemingly Machiavellian character driven by, albeit greed-ridden, ambition somehow ends up not getting her just due and respect when it comes to characterisation.
With the amount of thrillers flocking Bollywood and OTT space – for instance, off the top of my head, there’s Drishyam 2, Monica O My Darling, and the upcoming Govinda Naam Mera – does Freddy do enough to stand out?
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