While lockdown has been lifted, a return to normalcy is still a far cry. With rising cases and deaths, India’s coronavirus graph is only rising. Amid relaxations, certain shoots are ready to resume this month but cinema halls are yet to open. But that doesn’t mean one has to compromise on entertainment. OTT platforms are filling the vacuum.
To add to your list of must watch web series, Disney+Hotstar Premium is all set to unveil the web series Aarya on June 19, 2020. There are reasons that make it worth watching. First, the wait for Sushmita Sen’s fans will be over as she is making a comeback after almost a decade. She plays the title role. Second, there is Chandrachur Singh aka CCji, as the series cast fondly calls him. To make things better, Ajay from Kya Kehna, will also be making a comeback. Third, it is the brainchild of Ram Madhvani who directed Neerja. So you know that you are in for good entertainment. Fourth, Namit Das will be seen in a different avatar. So different, that when the actor was offered the role he was in doubt whether would fit in.
“But then there is a reason why I am Namit and why Ram Madhvani is Ram Madhvani,” says Das whose performance one can look forward to.
The trailer is intense, emotional, gripping and thrilling. The music adds to it. Just when one thinks the trailer suggests Sushmita is back, it throws up a surprise, claiming Sushmita is....Aarya.
“The story is so beautiful that I fell in love with it immediately. If I would have not got the chance to play it, I would have begged for it. Ram Madhvani has rightly mixed Sushmita and Aarya in a single mould,” Sen explains.
She adds that Aarya is a manifestation of making mistakes and learning from them.“In my 23-year career, this is the first time I have taken workshops for a role. This is how different the role is,” she says.
Sen recalls an incident from the shoot: “There was a scene where I had to cry but there was no cut. So I asked Ram how will I cry since there is no cut in the scene and will have no time to put glycerine in my eyes? To which he replied ‘haan, to mat rona na. Agar rona aaye to achha hai natural hoga, nahin aaye to mat rona’. This was the kind of atmosphere on the sets. Ram gave us full liberty to live our characters,” Sen tells you.
Chandrachur says that when he heard the script he felt that this was the right time to come back. “I am an instinctive person. When I was approached for the series I just felt that it was the right time. I got such good vibes from it. There was so much of positivity that I just took it up,” he tells you.
Sandeep Modi, co-director of Aarya, tells you that Madhvani has lived with the story for nine years and that is what makes it even more beautiful.
“When we started working on the project, we were clear that it was a crime family drama but then Ram said that ‘no, it will be a family crime drama’. So family is at the forefront here,” Modi tells you.
Time to gear up to watch the drama and fall in love with Sushmita all over again.