“Aarya is a tribute to The Godfather”: Director Ram Madhvani

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India]: After two successful seasons, the wait is over as the ‘Aarya’ franchise is set to return with its third season. Filmmaker Ram Madhvani revealed the inspiration behind the series.

‘Aarya’ and ‘The Godfather’ share compelling parallels, both centred around reluctant family leaders. In The Godfather, Al Pacino’s character never sought the role of a don, much like Aarya, an ordinary housewife forced into the family business.

Elaborating on the same, Ram Madhvani, the creator, co-director, and co-producer of Disney+ Hotstar’s Aarya season 3, said, “Critics have mentioned in the past that ‘Aarya’ is a tribute to ‘The Godfather’ in a way. It is inspired by ‘Penoza’ and revolves around a family, specifically about a woman who never wanted to become a don, much like Al Pacino’s character in ‘The Godfather.’

He never wanted to be a don; he was just an ordinary person who never wanted to join the family business. In ‘Aarya,’ we have just another ordinary housewife who never wanted to take over the family business, but she has to, and then she has to pay the price for it.”

He added, “In ‘The Godfather,’ he took over to protect his father, while in ‘Aarya,’ she takes over to protect her children, and that’s really the key difference. What if Al Pacino got killed, and Diane Keaton had to take over? What would have happened? This is essentially the question we explore.

Therefore, a significant part of the show is about family. In season 1, we had the Bhagavad Gita, which highlights the roles that a woman, or any man or anyone, plays. In this case, what Aarya chooses to be is a daughter first and a mother first.

She always prioritizes being a mother, and that is essentially what she does to protect her children. She will do anything to protect her children, and the show delves into the price and sacrifices associated with that.”

Recently, the makers unveiled the trailer of ‘Aarya 3’ which received massive responses from the fans.

The trailer depicted Aarya as more powerful and furious than ever before. She is now doing everything she used to despise and is in charge of her father’s opium empire. From doing business with those who once wanted her dead, she’s making new enemies and new allies.

‘Aarya’ marked Sushmita Sen’s comeback on-screen and her digital debut. Sushmita made a thrilling comeback with ‘Aarya’ in June 2020. In the series, the actor plays a tough woman, who goes beyond boundaries to protect her family from the world of crime.

The first season was even nominated for the ‘Best Drama’ series at the International Emmy Awards.

Directed by Ram Madhvani, the series also stars Namit Das, Manish Chaudhari, Sikandar Kher, and Vinod Rawat among others in pivotal roles.