A still from ‘Kota Factory’
| Photo Credit: Netflix
Streaming at a time when the utility of the coaching hub for society is under a cloud, the third season of the black-and-white series Kota Factory mostly sees the problem through rose-tinted glasses. Putting the onus of life-sapping pressure on students on the demand and supply model — where the ratio between the seats and aspirants is highly skewed — it romanticises the Factory model that pushes 15-16-year-olds through punishing schedules into a rat race of becoming engineers and doctors.
In a roundabout fashion, it tells us that the Rajasthan town has the first-mover advantage. If, over the years, its ecosystem has become mechanical, other centres are on the same path. The makers are not in a hurry to overhaul the process but like a seasoned politician seek votes for one more season by providing a feel-good experience to impressionable students and parents, the target audience. It gives a sense that some tweaking here and there will keep the business of coaching aerodynamic and the students in the conveyor belt.
The debate on whether the coaching centres should focus only on potential rankers or give equal importance to those who bring up the rear also misses the crucial money angle. Isn’t it the volumes that keep any factory running? It masks it with the altruistic goal of celebrating the preparation.
Similarly, on the frustrating question of board exams colliding with competitive tests, it doesn’t discuss the role of school education in preparing students for competitive exams and why teens migrate to prepare for an elusive dream, sorry, aim as the series calls it. Instead, it creates a kind of short advertisement on how coaching centres are preparing students for their boards as well. For the most part, you keep feeling like solving a question where both the assertion and the reasoning are true but reason is not the correct explanation of the assertion.
However, if you are looking for an expansive templated experience in the league of Panchayat, Mamla Legal Hai, and Aspirants, the series doesn’t disappoint because, at present, TVF’s algorithm is better than most templates in the OTT space.
Kota Factory Season 3 (Hindi)
Director: Pratish Mehta
Cast: Jitendra Kumar, Tillotama Shome, Rajesh Kumar, and Sohaila Kapur
Episodes: 5
Storyline: The story of drive, dejection, and dilemmas in a coaching centre in Kota that seeks to make a difference
Created by Raghav Subbu and directed by Pratish Mehta, this time, the five-episode series, throws up a new set of elementary questions like the IPL vs IIT debate that clog many young minds during the dinner table discussions and the financial struggle of those who hail from modest, rural backgrounds to last the Kota test. Then there are the sweet pressures of aligning romance with preparation. Of course, the writers objectively handle the quandaries as if they are a set of multiple-choice questions from the last 20 years, but it does provide moments to ponder and chuckle under the breath, particularly for those seeking nostalgia from a burning problem. The crisp editing doesn’t allow the episodes to drag and the conversations are relatable.
For a change, after facing a traumatic incident in the previous season, Jeetu is grappling with his dilemma of crossing the reserved boundaries of Sir to become a brotherly figure to his students.
The good thing in the third season is that all the answering is not done by Jeetu Bhaiya; other teachers also get an opportunity to tackle the same set of questions in their own way. Tillotama Shome adds value and depth to the series as the chemistry teacher Pooja who is expected to take on the mantle of Aimers in future seasons. Rajesh Kumar as the pragmatic mathematics teacher Gagan Rastogi provides an interesting contrast to both Jeetu Bhaiyya and Jitendra Kumar as an actor.
Jitendra has a limited skill set but the honesty he brings to his performances makes him lovable despite being repetitive. So do the young actors, particularly Ranjan Raj as Balmukund Meena and Ahsaas Channa as Shivangi. Raj stands out as the boy from a drought-prone region struggling to keep his value system intact in the face of several temptations, some of which seem pretty reasonable. Mayur More continues to bring out the confidence and vulnerability of Vaibhav, and Revathi Pillai gets a character arc to hold on to.
The best part is that the series aspires to make a teacher central to education policymaking. Still a work in progress, let’s hope machines find a natural heart.
Kota Factory Season 3 is currently streaming on Netflix
