Aarya Season 3 Part 1 review: A binge-worthy web show propelled by Sushmita Sen’s roaring performance

Aarya web series is a significant part of Sushmita Sen’s career.

In the web show, Ram Madhvani brought out a very different side of the actress that the audiences weren’t used to. Her performance and the show were widely appreciated.

The second season turned out to be a worthy follow-up. Yes, the initial portions were a little sketchy, but the web series became more gripping as it went along.

Season 2 was mostly about how Aarya’s children dealt with the untimely death of their father Tej (Chachundur Singh).

An important subplot in the second season was depression and substance abuse through the character of Aarya’s daughter Aaru (Virti Vaghani).

Her son Veer (Viren Vazirani) had matured beyond his years and became a strong pillar of support for his mother and siblings. This also includes the youngest one Adi (Pratyakash Panwar).

Sushmita Sen played a grieving wife, a scared mother and also a tough woman dealing with the crime lords. The actress did a solid job of portraying all these shades.

Now you have Aarya Season 3 in two parts.

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Synopsis

Season 2 ended with Aarya (Sushmita Sen) becoming a don. The first person that she had gunned down was her biological father.

He had a hand in the death of her husband Tej. The first episode of Season 3 has a slight recap set to the song “Bade Acche Lagte Hain“. It was a song that Tej was hugely fond of.

Aarya Season 3 begins with her getting shot. From there, the story moves into a flashback mode and tells what happened four weeks earlier.

In the flashback, it is revealed that Aarya is planning to expand the drug business. She has become a complete lady don.

Her chief enemy is Sooraj (Indraneil Sengupta), whose biggest mission in life is to destroy Aarya.

Aarya Season 3 isn’t just about her struggle with the mafia gangs. It is also about the inner battle that Aarya is going through.

In the previous seasons, it was clearly shown that Aarya had no interest in being part of this world, but now, she is a don herself.

Aarya constantly justifies her actions by saying that whatever she is doing is a part of protecting her family.

Season 3 is essentially about the challenges that Aarya faces both as a lady don and also as a mother who is dealing with her rebellious children, particularly the elder son.

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Taut writing

One of the strong aspects of season 3 is how the directors portray the struggles of Aarya. On one hand, she tries hard to be a successful businesswoman; on the other, she faces difficulties in being a good mother — the conflicts arising from these situations give the show some of its best moments.

Aarya raises her children amidst all this blood and gory. The loose morals and ethics around them inevitably have a psychological impact.

For example, a situation comes when the elder son picks a gun to avenge the death of a woman whom he dearly loves. This woman was pregnant with his child when she died.

The youngest of the lot gets involved in a brawl.

Directors Ram Madhavani, Kapil Sharma, and Shraddha Pasi Jararth have done a brilliant job in designing their characters.

Another strong point of Aarya Season 3 is its antagonist.

Indraneil Sengupta’s Sooraj is not an inherently bad man. There are times when we see him being vulnerable, and there are a couple of tender moments too.

Indraneil Sengupta does a fantastic job of portraying both the ruthlessness and the ache of a husband who has lost his wife.

Ila Arun as Nalini Sahiba has a brief role, but the senior actress packs a strong punch whenever she is on screen.

Nalini Sahiba is a mini antagonist who will have a bigger space in Part 2 of Seasons 3.

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Sherni ne panje nikaal liye hai. Shikaar ke liye taiyaar rehna.

New track #SherniAayi ft. @TheSushmitaSen and @TheRajaKumari , coming soon!#HotstarSpecials #Aarya Season 3 is now streaming.#AaryaS3OnHotstar pic.twitter.com/wxcBzFHzkZ

— Disney+ Hotstar (@DisneyPlusHS) November 5, 2023

Sushmita Sen is spellbinding

The scenes between Sushmita and the elder son (Viren Vazirani) have also been written with much depth. Viren particularly stands out in the confrontation scenes.

Sushmita Sen once again shows why she deserves meatier roles in films with this roaring performance. The actress makes the transformation from a scared mother to a lioness in a seamless manner.

Sushmita not only brings in the required authority with her body language but is equally effective in showcasing the vulnerable side of Aarya.

In the technical department, Vishal Khurana’s background score stands out the most. His background score plays a big part in elevating both dramatic and action bits.

There are a couple of areas where the directors could have done a better job. One of them is the characterisation of Sikander Kher, who gets minimal screen time this time.

Also, Vikas Kumar as ACP Yonous Khan doesn’t offer anything new with his portrayal.

Verdict

Part 1 of Aarya Season 3 ends with a thrilling cliffhanger, which increases the expectations of the audience.

(Views expressed here are personal.)