When shows like 'Kota Factory', 'Laakhon Mein Ek', and others have already delved into the underbelly of Kota's coaching system and the struggles of students eyeing for an IIT seat, it's fair to compare Vijay Maurya's 'Crash Course' to them because the basic premise isn't novel. But, this 10-part series offers an interesting insight into the cut-throat competition between two major coaching institutes and the impact it has on students' lives. The conflicts between these institutions (often portrayed as villains of the system) are emphasized more in the narrative than the journey of the students, their friendship, peer pressure and much more.
Ratanraj Jindal's (Annu Kapoor) institute is a large shark in the coaching industry, attempting to devour all the smaller ones. RJ's rival Batra institute comes in second, led by Arvind Batra (Siddharth Kak), also known as the "Father of Education in Kota," and his son Shashank (Bhanu Uday). Both competitors share the same goal: to enroll as many students as possible and produce the most top scorers. Arvind opposes this policy and even distances himself from Shashank, who has marketing expertise and is constantly devising dubious strategies to compete with RJ Institute. Amid all this, the students become collateral damage.
Vijay Maurya has expertly captured the flavor of the city by focusing on local streets before moving on to eateries and the mess where students spend most of their time. With the help of close-up shots, he also manages to capture the characters' tense mood. 'Crash Course' is created by Manish Hariprasad, who has also co-written the series with Raina Roy. The drama is certainly intriguing and holds your attention for the most part, but shorter episodes may have made it easier to binge watch. The 50-minute episodes ruin the show's momentum by repeating most of the sequences. Cutting the scenes showcasing the marketing and competitive skills of both institutes, which take up a lot of screentime, would have helped.
Annu Kapoor is outstanding as Jindal, and he truly meant it when he said, "Jindal all the Way," over and over again. He is an openly cunning, money-minded individual, and Kapoor has nailed it. Bhanu Uday is convincing as Jindal's rival. Udit Aora portrays Binny, who swaps sides between the two institutes for his own gain, quite effectively.
These Gen-Z actors, including Vidhi Gupta (Anushka Kaushik), Sathya Srinivasan (Hridhu Haroon), Anil Baid (Mohit Solanki), Aviral Bharti (Bhavesh Balchandani), Rakesh Gulia (Aryan Singh), Nikki (Anvesha Vij), and Tejal Patel (Hetal Gada), are convincing in their respective roles. One can easily relate to everyone's personal and ambitious life. They really shine when it comes to pushing the limits.
But, there are some characters who fail to show their need in the show, for instance, Bidita Bag's Antara. It's challenging to discern where her story is going and how it fits into the drama. Another character is Shanaya, played by Ridhhi Kumar. She is a chirpy, happy-go-lucky girl who comes from a conservative family but aspires to fly high. Her character arc is sketchy at best.
'Crash Course' has nothing new to offer in terms of insights. One thing that remains constant throughout the show, if not more, is that you will miss Kota Factory's Jeetu Bhaiya and his words of wisdom... All in all, this crash course isn't mandatory, but it is well worth taking once!
Ratanraj Jindal's (Annu Kapoor) institute is a large shark in the coaching industry, attempting to devour all the smaller ones. RJ's rival Batra institute comes in second, led by Arvind Batra (Siddharth Kak), also known as the "Father of Education in Kota," and his son Shashank (Bhanu Uday). Both competitors share the same goal: to enroll as many students as possible and produce the most top scorers. Arvind opposes this policy and even distances himself from Shashank, who has marketing expertise and is constantly devising dubious strategies to compete with RJ Institute. Amid all this, the students become collateral damage.
Vijay Maurya has expertly captured the flavor of the city by focusing on local streets before moving on to eateries and the mess where students spend most of their time. With the help of close-up shots, he also manages to capture the characters' tense mood. 'Crash Course' is created by Manish Hariprasad, who has also co-written the series with Raina Roy. The drama is certainly intriguing and holds your attention for the most part, but shorter episodes may have made it easier to binge watch. The 50-minute episodes ruin the show's momentum by repeating most of the sequences. Cutting the scenes showcasing the marketing and competitive skills of both institutes, which take up a lot of screentime, would have helped.
Annu Kapoor is outstanding as Jindal, and he truly meant it when he said, "Jindal all the Way," over and over again. He is an openly cunning, money-minded individual, and Kapoor has nailed it. Bhanu Uday is convincing as Jindal's rival. Udit Aora portrays Binny, who swaps sides between the two institutes for his own gain, quite effectively.
These Gen-Z actors, including Vidhi Gupta (Anushka Kaushik), Sathya Srinivasan (Hridhu Haroon), Anil Baid (Mohit Solanki), Aviral Bharti (Bhavesh Balchandani), Rakesh Gulia (Aryan Singh), Nikki (Anvesha Vij), and Tejal Patel (Hetal Gada), are convincing in their respective roles. One can easily relate to everyone's personal and ambitious life. They really shine when it comes to pushing the limits.
But, there are some characters who fail to show their need in the show, for instance, Bidita Bag's Antara. It's challenging to discern where her story is going and how it fits into the drama. Another character is Shanaya, played by Ridhhi Kumar. She is a chirpy, happy-go-lucky girl who comes from a conservative family but aspires to fly high. Her character arc is sketchy at best.
'Crash Course' has nothing new to offer in terms of insights. One thing that remains constant throughout the show, if not more, is that you will miss Kota Factory's Jeetu Bhaiya and his words of wisdom... All in all, this crash course isn't mandatory, but it is well worth taking once!