{"id":7473,"date":"2016-07-09T21:56:34","date_gmt":"2016-07-09T16:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7473"},"modified":"2016-07-09T21:56:34","modified_gmt":"2016-07-09T16:26:34","slug":"aarya-hotstar-season-2-review-sushmita-sen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=7473","title":{"rendered":"Aarya Season 2 review: Sen-sational yet again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\u201cI<\/span>am just a working mother.\u201d Truer words have never been spoken as Sushmita Sen is back with grit and finesse for the second outing of Aarya on Disney+Hotstar. The eight-episode series sees the evolution of Aarya Sareen, the protective mother of three. As the episodes unfold, the weak and wounded woman \u2013 nothing more than a mere pawn in a game of bloody chess \u2013 becomes the unlikely Queen outsmarting her enemies, effortlessly turning her foes into friends, while being a few steps ahead of her enemies all the time.\n\nRam Madhvani\u2019s Aarya, perhaps, had more layers in the first Season. The screenplay was razor-sharp, unlike this time where it falters every now and then. But the second season stands tall on the fact that it becomes accessory to the powers of its women. Led by its fiery and strong women the show is perhaps the first of its kind when it comes to contextually framing women as not just the victims but also its source of ferocity \u2013 Aarya fighting to keep her family safe, Sushila Shekhar, the corrupt cop, Maya, the loyal friend, Hina, the grief-stricken sister-in-law and of course, Aarya\u2019s mother, with her grace in the face of grief and betrayal. Madhvani gives his female subjects a kind of agency that is rare still, in the OTT space.\n\n

As the episodes unfold, the weak and wounded Aarya \u2013 nothing more than a mere pawn in a game of bloody chess \u2013 becomes the unlikely Queen.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nAarya\u2019s daughter remains a tantalising yet unrealised idea. Aru unfairly falls prey to the tropes that come with a grief-stricken problem child \u2013 drug abuse, suicidal tendencies, temperament, a strained relationship with the parent, and refuge as a coping mechanism. It is a predictable track, and though it titillates on the surface, it rarely says anything that which you cannot see coming from afar. That said, the show\u2019s un-sanitised portrayal of children stuck within the crossfire of familial conflict, at least pushes the boundaries of tele-chauvinism \u2013 \u201cthe kids are innocent\u201d.\n\nThe men in Aarya 2 are either seeking revenge (for instance, Aarya\u2019s father and brother, and the Shekhawat family head) or falling victim to it (Sangram, Kedia) or being the lame duck to the strong women around them, for good or for bad (ACP Khan, Daulat). Vishwajeet Pradhan as Sampat is a welcome change though \u2013 a bad man with a conscience. Jayant Kriplani as Zorawar Rathore is almost wasted and could have used more meat. Sikandar Kher\u2019s Daulat is despite its rawness rarely amounts to anything other than the rugged masculinity. Veer, Aarya\u2019s elder son, carries forward his father\u2019s nonchalance, and voice of reason.\n\n

Led by its fiery and strong women the show is perhaps the first of its kind when it comes to contextually framing women as not just the victims but also its source of ferocity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nLike its prequel, Season 2 leans heavily on Sen\u2019s abilities. It\u2019s evidently tough to essay grace in the face of blissfully unaware patriarchs and yet Sen\u2019s uprightness doesn\u2019t sever the length of her impact, but only prolong its vitality. She remains in memory, of both her enemies and audience. Even as she breaks down and says, \u201cI\u2019m not a good mother,\u201d you want to whisper back, \u201cBut, you are.\u201d A bone to pick here might be Aarya\u2019s extremely clique look that contradicts, at times, her prowling, her instinct to survive the worst of situations.\n\nThough an official remake of the Spanish original Penoza, the series kept reminding me of Ram Gopal Varma\u2019s Sarkar. But, truth be said, Aarya steers clear of Bollywood clich\u00e9s. The series does have a few touches of the overdone, but thankfully, they are far and few in between. The background score is noteworthy and so is the use of old songs from time to time. But this merging with the antique doesn\u2019t in any way make the show mossy with nostalgia, but lends it instead, a poetic register, a sort of outhouse to build its moment of chasms inside. This use of both colour and music culminates a breath-taking climactic sequence that will be talked about in days to come.\n\n

Aarya steers clear of Bollywood clich\u00e9s. The series does have a few touches of the overdone, but thankfully, they are far and few in between.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nFor all its minor flaws Aarya is really a winner in the OTT space, foremost for its platforming of strong women and characters that can\u2019t be boxed into easy cliches. Like any piece of art, you\u2019d want to change things about it, but nothing can be perfect, and with Sen\u2019s role of a woman stuck between a rock and a hard place, that kind of, is the point.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The second season of Aarya may not feel as fresh but is equally explosive and thrilling, with Sushmita Sen returning to form, and one could say, doing even better than the first season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":447,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[10683,10692,11484,10820,11483,7054,291],"class_list":["post-7473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-aarya","tag-aarya-review","tag-aarya-season-2","tag-disney-hotstar","tag-hindi-tv","tag-sushmita-sen","tag-tv"],"yoast_head":"\nAarya Season 2 review: Sen-sational yet again<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The second season of Aarya may not feel as fresh but is equally explosive and thrilling, with Sushmita Sen returning to form, and one could say, doing even better than the first season.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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