Freddy teaser proves why Kartik Aaryan has raced way ahead of the competition

Here is the thing. Freddy is Kartik Aaryan’s first film that his young fan following won’t be able to watch. Although it is on the OTT platform, which means anyone can watch anything anytime, Freddy is meant to be for an adult audience. It is horror, yes. But not goofy horror like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. This is not the look-Maa-no-bhoot kind of farcical fear-weather fiend _Freddy_ is the story of what abject loneliness can do to the human psyche. In the chilling teaser that was released on November 7, the impact in less than a minute is bludgeoning as we see Kartik in a cottage. He is alone. He is bored. He is at a loss for things to do. So he does a smart jig: steps to the left steps to the back and then right back. This man is ….endearing in his determination to entertain himself. But wait! Freddy is not finished trying to entertain himself. He now heads into the forest drags a corpse back into his cottage, puts it into the dentist’s chair and before beginning the procedural he announces, “Sorry for the delay.” Which being told to a corpse is not only ironical and macabre but also funny. Though I don’t think Freddy intends to be funny. It is startling portrait of loneliness and lunacy seldom attempted in Hindi cinema. I may be jumping the gun here. We have yet to see how far Kartik Aaryan has gone down that dungeon of darkness in the human soul. From the teaser, he seems to have gone the whole hog.

Freddy has an interesting history. The film was initially directed by Ajay Bahl, the director of BA Pass. Ajay Bahl told me he opted out of directing Kartik Aaryan in the seriocomic thriller Freddy as the dates clashed with his underproduction film that he’s directing for Taapsee Pannu (Blurr). This sounds highly improbable, considering how little work Bahl has been getting since his first film BA Pass in 2012. Since then he has directed only one film. When he signed Freddy with Balaji, Bahl raved about the opportunity to work with Kartik Aaryan, So what happened? Apparently, Bahl couldn’t see eye to eye with the producers on the script. This is not the first time that Bahl has been driven out of a project due to creative differences. In 2013 Ajay Bahl was out of the Bhatts’ Citylights (featuring Rajkummar Rao and Patralekha) and replaced by Hansal Mehta. Soon after Ajay Bahl announced a film starring Abhay Deol and Gitanjali Thapa that never got made. It was an adaptation of Kimitsi Takagi’s Japanese Novel The Informer featuring Deol and Thapa. Director Ajay Bahl said he owed Geetanjali one. After Bahl opted out of the Bhatts project City Lights Geetanjali also opted out. She didn’t have to do that. In fact, from what I know of the equations in the entertainment industry no one turns away from a project for the sake of showing solidarity. Geetanjali left the Bhatts project after Bahl did. Bahl owed her a role which he gave her in The Informer. Like several other projects of Ajay Bahl, never got made. So I guess he still owes Gitanjali Thapa a movie. Freddy is directed by Shashanka Ghosh who seems to be the best fit. Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.