In 2005, director Vikram Bhatt very discreetly gave us a Hindi remake of the 1999 American crime thriller Double Jeopardy in the form of Jurm. The Bobby Deol, Lara Dutta, and Millind Soman film was my introduction to revenge dramas, and it somehow continues to be one of the films that have strongly imprinted my heart and memory. In Jurm (and by extension, Double Jeopardy), a rich man is defrauded by the woman he ardently loves, making the former seek revenge. The aforementioned films are like those uncountable other flicks in cinema history that have originated from the same premise, reiterating John Lyly’s ultimate lesson: all is fair in love and war. The latest to hop on the bandwagon is Shashanka Ghosh’s Freddy—the film released early this month—that follows a similar, foreseeable matrix and is mostly driven by cliches. 

Freddy (2022)—currently streaming on Disney + Hotstar (Hulu in the US)—is the story of a Mumbai-based dentist, Dr. Freddy Ginwala (Kartik Aaryan), who is haunted by childhood trauma. The shy and lonely Ginwala divides his day into three chores: his work, going out for dates with women he met on a matrimony website and wrecking them almost always, and painting model airplanes—checking all boxes for the classic representation of every introvert character. After numerous failed attempts at finding love, the socially awkward Ginwala finds himself drawn towards Kainaaz Irani (Alaya F), a damsel in distress whom she meets at a wedding. With Kainaaz, Ginwala’s romantic aspirations seem to materialize, but his joy is short-lived. Drama unfolds, and this tale of a harmless young doctor metamorphoses into a revenge drama… with little success. 

Having created a premise that is seething with love, ego, and rage, Freddy is too juvenile a film. The revenge drama lacks layers and is mostly predictable, further plagued by some dull performances. Kartik Aaryan brings his Love Aaj Kal energy to his character and keeps it throughout; mind it that Aaryan is playing an antisocial sociopath in Freddy and not a mindless loverboy as in the former. It is nice to see Aaryan finally break his chocolate boy image, but despite emulating the antics of Norman Bates, Aaryan is far from giving his audience the chills. Alaya F’s Kainaaz is interesting yet stale. Alaya tries hard to exude the evil charm of Kainaaz, but her presence fails to strike a mark. The most unbearable one of the lot is Raymond Nariman (Karan Pandit), a Parsi caricature whose presence all throughout is annoying, to say the least.  

Freddy also touches upon mental health issues, trauma, and violence, but with its determined attempt to make this film about its deranged protagonist, the themes take a back seat. It is like Ghosh attempts to pull off a Joker for all the short-changed lovers out there, but the closest this film gets to is Ek Hasina Thi. 

Having seen some really mind-blowing work in the romantic thriller genre, one would naturally expect writers to create fresh and not reproduce the same plots in multiple formats year after year. Freddy garnered over 6 million views in its opening weekend on Disney + Hotstar in India, becoming the most-watched film on OTT in its first week, thus beating all other releases. Despite the overwhelming numbers, Freddy is a tedious watch that treads on a tried-and-tested path. If you go by the popular idiom familiarity breeds contempt, it is no wonder that the snags of this familiar film are way too apparent. 

Review Courtesy of Anjani Chadha