Aarya Review: Sushmita Sen delivers a powerful performance in a well-crafted story

Cast: Sushmita Sen, Chandrachur Singh, Sikander Kher, Ankur Bhatia, Namit Das , Manish Choudhary, Vikas Kumar, Flora Saini, Pratyaksh Panwar

Director: Ram Madhavi, Sandeep Singh, Jayant Kripalani  Srivastava, Anu Singh Choudhary

Rating: ***1/2

B

ased on the Spanish series Penoza, Aarya gives us the story of a woman who is catapulted into the hot-seat of her dodgy family business. Co-written by Sandeep Singh Srivastava and Anu Singh Choudhary this one crime thriller is the debut of former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen in the digital world of entertainment.

Aarya revolves around a mafia family, which deals in opium-tinctured medicines, and their drug rivals, whom they rub the wrong way by trying to meddle with their more deadly-narcotics business. How this scenario forces our eponymous star to forgo her life of a homemaker and assume the responsibility as the matriarch of her family's criminal empire, while also trying to uncover a dark secret, forms the rest of the plot.

There is never a dull moment with Aarya careening between a tricky transaction one minute and her children the next. Though many scenes are stretched beyond repair, and the emotional moments seem over directed. Ram Madhavi's direction has done total justice with the characters, transition and storyline.

Sushmita Sen as Aarya is polite, beautiful and when needed, confident and cunning too. She aces every emotion brilliantly on screen and totally into the character. She has flawlessly performed every layer of the character from emotional, cunning, confident to polite. Here she is a perfect mother, wife and then turns out to be a perfect businesswoman too.

Vikas Kumar is very good as the rough-mannered Khan, while Sikandar Kher is a surprise as the mysterious Daulat. Pratyaksh Panwar, who plays the young and sensitive Adi, turns out a pure and heartfelt performance.

And even Chandrachur Singh who plays the character of Tej is precise and accurate. Even the supporting characters Flora Saini, Namit Das, Manish Choudhary, Ankur Bhatia have done a fabulous job and are totally into the skin of their characters. In fact, Flora Saini is particularly convincing in her part.

The background score stays in the background, thank the almighty. The series is set somewhere in Rajasthan, so we get beautifully appointed homes, ornate Havelis, polo team-owning crime lords, liveried staff, factories as big as barnyards, fancy cars, fancier shades which gives a rich cinematic experience.

The language is precise, and they keep cuss words at bay only using the same if the character demands it. The music of the series is average as it's a crime thriller we don't expect much too.

Overall, Aarya is totally a Sushmita Sen's show because she has overpowered everyone. This one is a powerful story with great performances on screen making up for an impactful watch. It is a must-watch series for all cinematic lovers who love to explore the dark side of medicine crime too.