Our Indian television industry has seen a rising trend of grey male leads since a few years and I have even fangirled over a few myself but Aditya Hooda stands a class apart from all those heroes. He is such a complex and yet a beautiful character. His character has so many layers and after each layer is peeled you fall deeper and deeper for him.
So what makes Aditya Hooda special???
First, Aditya is not your typical brooding and damaged hero whose only motive in life is to take revenge from the female lead and constantly humiliate her so that she remains unaware of his conflicting emotions over her. Yes, Aditya did humiliate Zoya and crossed the boundaries at times but his motive was different. He did not hate Zoya, he hated her blind belief and the sticking her head in the mud attitude in Zoya regarding Yash. He had been helpless when it had come to pulling his mom from the deep end but he knew it was not too late for Zoya and he would do anything for her to come face to face with the reality even if he had to be harsh.
Secondly, unlike other grey heroes who glower and scowl at people unnecessarily our boy is the king of sass and humor when it comes to dealing with not only the general public but his enemies as well. Behind his mischievous eyes lies an ocean of pain, experience and knowledge of life that he hides behind the facade of Devil may care' attitude. He hides his wounds so well pretending that he has moved on in life but at night those wounds are torn open and he can't do anything to stop them from bleeding and his demons tormenting him.
Thirdly, Aditya is not waiting for someone else to pick him up contrary to other heroes whose healing process only starts with the female lead. Yes, Zoya is helping him in healing but the initiative is taken by him first. He took responsibility of himself and his monologue on his birthday of him picking himself up and fighting again shows the warrior he is. Each line indicated how broken he was but at the same time it also indicated that how emotionally strong he is. That monologue is one of the most brilliant moments I have ever witnessed on Indian television it's so inspiring for people who are not only cheated on but for life in general.
Fourthly, Aditya is not a MCP in fact he one of the few heroes who is thorough feminist who wants not only for Zoya to stand on her two feet to become financially independent but also emotionally strong. Aditya will never coddle or soften the blow for Zoya that's what makes him different and that's his brand of "tough love" for Zoya. He is like one of those parents who constantly push their children but are on the sidelines watching over them, if they get a slight indication their child is in trouble they will go to any extent to protect their child acting as barriers between the world and their child.
Fifthly, the thing that I admire the most in him and I see lacking in other heroes is using their brains. Other heroes are shown to be CEO's of some MNC's but suddenly their brain stops functioning in the most crucial moments. The street smartness and astuteness that Aditya showed while interacting with Rajveer in fact even ended up cornering him shows that he is a highly intelligent man. Aditya may be a pilot but he is from a family of lawyers who analyze and process things scientifically and objectively. That's a very desirable trait in a hero.
Finally the last thing is Aditya is a contrasting mix of unusual traits he is childish, goofy and carefree on one hand but is equally vindictive, shrewd and a fierce man on the other and being such a mix makes him someone really dangerous and tough to take down. So Aditya's enemies are in for a ride...once he steps into the game it will nearly be impossible to take him and his queen down.
Veer Hanuman
Anupamaa
