Sushmita Sen shines again, Aarya sees another transformation

Sheetal

Up until the last season, the titular character, Aarya, portrayed by Sushmita Sen, was a reluctant businesswoman and gangster, but as the final episode of Season 2 suggested, she had finally stopped running. And so begins her journey in the latest season, in which she accepts her fate and stands by her choices, be it about hiding a body, delivering a drug consignment or not disclosing the truth to an investigation officer.

Aarya is doing it all and for the first time, she is not sorry. It makes Sushmita look strong and confident, an aura hard to miss on her facial expressions. While only a curtain-raiser of the third season has been released with just four episodes, it has set the pace for a promising part two.

The third instalment of the hit series tries to help characters and viewers move on from the wounds of deaths in the family, business betrayals and a consignment delivery gone wrong. Yet, Aarya finds herself in the same vicious cycle, which leads you to believe that only new villains and players are added but the plot remains the same — ‘an alpha female willing to protect her family at any cost’. Even though there is a sense of deja vu, seeing the ease with which Sushmita brings about a transformation in her portrayal of Aarya from a protector to an aggressor, the plot is believable.

The third season has action, drama and also a baggage of the past. While the reprising characters hold their ground when it comes to performance, the younger lot gets more screen space.

Actors like Viren Vazirani (Veer Sareen), Aarushi Bajaj (Arundhati Sareen) and Shweta Pasricha (Roop) have more to deliver and it only adds to the drama in Aarya’s life. We miss Daulat, aka Sikander Kher, whom we see only for one or two scenes and hope for more presence in the second part.

This adaptation of the Dutch series ‘Penoza’ keeps you hooked from the word go and only establishes Sen’s foothold in the OTT world. As for the new players, Indraneil Sengupta leaves a mark in his portrayal of Sooraj. Ila Arun’s entry in the drug cartel also makes the series engrossing for it’s for the first time that Aarya is up against a woman.

The series is pacy and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Each episode leaves you wanting more and the creators have a hold on the expectations of the audience. Not just season three, the whole series is worth binge-watching this weekend.