CAST:Sushmita Sen; Chandrachur Singh; Namit Das; Ankur Bhatia; Vikas Kumar

DIRECTOR :  Ram Madhvani and Sandeep Modi

Aarya marks Sushmita Sen’s return to the screen after 10 years and what a return it is! She plays the titular role of a wife and mother plunged into the deep, dark world of crime after her kindly husband Tej (Chandrachur Singh) is murdered for a deal gone wrong.

Everything she knows about her life seems to be a lie, as she finds out that her family’s pharmaceutical company is actually a front for a drug operation. She embarks on a mission to protect her children, where she encounters cops, hitmen, Russian mobsters, kidnappings and everything else under the sun.

Although this might sound cliche, the way it’s done is insanely rich. This show perfectly balances Aarya’s navigation of this world as well as her difficulties with her dysfunctional family shaken by grief. The absolute best part of the show are the characters. Each character is insanely rich and is given a unique story arc. Our favorites were the Rajasthani drug lord (Manish Choudhary), ACP Khan, a homosexual Muslim cop (Vikas Kumar) and Aarya’s mother (Sohaila Kapur), who somehow carries the air of a decayed royal mixed with a Bond villain but with nerves of steel.

It’s great to see actors that Bollywood often overlooked get such fleshed out story arcs. However, the actor that truly shines is Sushmita. When she’s on screen, it feels like a one-woman show. She has an air of strength, royalty and just a touch of vulnerability, selling Aarya’s story like no one else could. When she says “First the men handle it. Now there aren’t many left,” you really get a glimpse into her iron core.

Also, she’s absolutely stunning and just lights up the screen. It’s also nice to see Rajasthan in a different light, and not depicted as the stereotypical Bollywood tourist hub. So if you want to binge watch a show that will keep you biting your nails the whole way through, watch Aarya. We promise, you’ll be as hooked as we are.