Movie Review : Good Luck Jerry (2022)

Posted on August 5, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre: Comedy
Year: 2022
Running time: 2 hours 28 minutes
Director: Siddharth Sen
Cast: Jahnvi Kapoor, Mita Vashisht, Sushant Singh, Deepak Dobriyal, Sahil Mehta, Samta Sudiksha, Neeraj Seth
Kid rating: PG

So the husband saw the trailer of Good Luck Jerry and said it was funny. The convenience of streaming is that you don’t have to think too much to see a film. So we did, despite the fact that the only big name in this film is Jahnvi Kapoor, and she is not quite a star as yet. Am pleasantly surprised – Good luck Jerry is an entertaining romp and a fun watch. It comes from the Aanand L. Rai stable so that probably explains it!

Good Luck Jerry is a story of a young Bihari girl Jaya Kumari, or Jerry (Jahnvi Kapoor) who lives with her mother Sharbati (Mita Vashisht) and sister Chaya “Cherry” Kumari (Sudiksha) in a small town of Punjab. Now, they aren’t wealthy to begin with but things take a turn for the worse when they find that Sharbati has cancer. The treatment will cost lakhs of rupees – money they don’t have.

By chance Jerry and Cherry get involved with a drug smuggling ring and Jerry decides to keep working for it to raise money for her mother’s treatment. However after a close call with the police Jerry wants to quit. Only, the smugglers don’t take very kindly to her request; this is not a regular 9 to 5. Things then go from bad to worse, and Jerry must think of an escape plan.

One of the great things about Good Luck Jerry is its wonderful cast. Mita Vashisht, as the mother, is impeccable. Sushant Singh plays gangster Daler with a mix of humor and menace. I also really enjoyed Sahil Mehta’s depiction of smuggler Jigar, gangly, loud and trigger-happy. Deepak Dobriyal, another dependable actor, provides comic relief as the neighborhood lout and Jerry’s ardent admirer.

Jahnvi does do unsure and waffly quite well and seems to get cast in those kinds of roles. Even in this film, her character is of a naïve innocent, easily scared and ever ready to tear up. She would do well to improve her range of emotions but here does do well as the plucky Jerry, and carries the movie successfully. Kudos to her!

As in all of Anand Rai’s work it is the little touches and the attention to detail that elevate his films. The film location locales are pretty well done – the dimly-lit smugglers office has leather chairs and seedy furniture. The public bathrooms are dingy. Jerry’s home has a little courtyard and chipped walls. And the characterization is spot on. The criminals are brash, uneducated, Punjabi speaking gangsters, spewing casual sexism.The dialogues were apt, realistic and funny; some were real zingers.

The bad guys in Good Luck Jerry are a bunch of bumbling goons, and watching quick-thinking Jerry trying to outwit them, makes an entertaining 2.5 hours. Do watch!

Kidwise: Some gunslinging and violence.

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Movie Review : Jayeshbhai Jordaar (2022)

Posted on July 29, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️
Genre: Drama
Year: 2022
Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Director: Divyaang Thakkar
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Boman Irani, Ratna Pathak Shah, Shalini Pandey, Jia Vaidya
Kid rating: PG

Jayeshbhai Jordaar’s story is set in a small Gujarati village where Jayesh’s father Pruthvish (Boman Irani) and his wife Jashoda (Pathak Shah) seek to curb any notion of female equality. Patriarchy reigns supreme as Pruthvish makes women responsible for covering themselves up so that men will not be inflamed by desire. Hand-in-hand with this philosophy goes the preference for a male heir. When it is discovered that Pruthvish’s precious son Jayesh is about to father yet another daughter, Pruthvish and Jashoda are all set on an abortion. 

Well, hero Jayeshbhai (Ranveer Singh) won’t let that happen, Averse to confrontation and an obedient son to boot, Jayesh can’t voice his disagreement, but runs away with wife and daughter to prevent Pruthvish from getting his wish. His goal is to take them to a Haryanvi village where his family will be safe. Will he able to ensure their well-being?

The film has a good message, but goes about delivering it in a ridiculous fashion. Jayeshbhai Jordar is about a woman’s issue but as the title suggests the film is all about the man. The star Jayeshbhai is painted as the savior while the women – the actual people affected – remain mute and docile and primed for saving.

The scene where Jayeshbhai preaches (yes, sweetly, but it is still preaching) to the women about handling their husbands with love, set my teeth on edge. His pregnant wife Mudra is nothing but a prop. While Ranveer brings Jayeshbhai’s character to life, Shalini Pandey and the little attention to her character makes her a part of the backdrop; had they replaced her with a block of wood I’d scarce have noticed. 

The director and script-writer seem to have almost no comprehension of the effects of foeticide or the larger reality. They portray the bachelors of a Haryanvi village (where the women have been wiped out thanks to sex-selection) as sweet lambs who treasure and honor women. In reality a scarcity of women, in the absence of law and order, does not magically turn female-foetus-aborting men into respectful gentlemen, conscious of their misdeeds; it only leads to women being trafficked and bought and sold in these areas.

The film tries to bring in humor with Jayeshbhai’s lively antics and a coterie of Haryanvi bachelors traveling around in a bus, but the general stupidity of the film makes the humor hard to countenance. I felt like I’d been transported to the small screen watching one of Ekta Kapoor’s better television series – such is the tone and disconnect with reality. 

On the positive side, the film is anchored by some strong performances. Boman Irani as the patriarchal Pruthvish and Ratna Pathak Shah as Jashoda deliver convincing performances. Ranveer was a delight to watch, as was Jia Vaidya who plays his plucky, smart-talking daughter.

Despite its heart being in the right place, Jayeshbhai Jordaar is a tiresome watch. You could do better than this dithering mess.

Kidwise: Talk of sex-selection and the role of women. The little ones might need explanations.

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Movie Review : Looop Lapeta (2022)

Posted on July 22, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre: Sci-fi/Experimental
Year: 2022
Running time: 2 hours 11 minutes
Director: Aakash Bhatia
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Dibyendu Bhattacharya
Kid rating: PG

Looop Lapeta is based on the German movie Run Lola Run about the same events unfolding 3 ways. The film has been modified to fit the Indian mold, with some new characters introduced and some removed, but the adaptation is done well, and the quirky film is fun to watch.

Savina “Savi” Borkar (Pannu) receives a call from her boyfriend Satya (Tahir Raj Bhasin) – notice the name allusion to the Savitri Satyavan legend. Satya has managed to lose a large amount of money, and he must now face his boss who will but surely make short shrift of him. He then panics and calls Savi for help. Savi, dealing with momentous news of her own, drops everything and begins to run for help.

In a quest to get the money Satya requires, Savi meets many people – her father, a pair of estranged lovers, a jewelry store owner. Things don’t look bright but she never gives up. Meanwhile, the boyfriend, not the brightest of chaps, gets embroiled in other sticky situations.

This film is well-named because it is loopy. There are do-overs and Savi and Satya start over and over after earier attempts where they mess up and one of them dies. It is a little mind-bending but in a fun way. 

Taapsee Pannu as Savi is spot-on, and while Bhasin is fine, I’m just surprised to see him in a series (Yeh Kali Kali Aankhein) and a movie (this one) in a short span of time. He is not quite good-looking enough for a Bollywood hero – not that that is a hard requirement, there is Rajkummar Yadav – but still. The acting chops while adequate aren’t quite of Yadav’s calibre. 

It is lovely to see an fun sci-fi film in Bollywood, even if it is “inspired” – you might recall that another Taapsee starrer Game Over had a similar do-over concept. Loop Lapeta is an entertaining watch – well-paced, and with interesting plot twists. Do watch.

Kidwise: Clean

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Movie Review : Anek (2022)

Posted on July 15, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Drama
Year: 2022
Running time: 2 hours 27 minutes
Director: Anubhav Sinha
Cast: Ayushman Khurana, Andrea Kevichusa, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa
Kid rating: PG-13

I was looking forward to watching Anek but when it released its time in the theater was so short that I had to wait for its release on Amazon Prime. Given its star cast and the fact that Ayushmann Khurrana chooses interesting projects I had high hopes for Anek, but it left me a little disappointed.

Anek is about India’s north-eastern states. The story revolves around separatists who don’t believe their voices are being heard by the politicians of Delhi. Ayushmann Khurrana plays an undercover government agent, Aman, who is sent to the north eastern states to ferret out information about faction groups. As cafe-owner Joshua, he gets to know the locals and starts seeing their point of view.

Aido (Andrea), is a friend of Joshua’s. She is a boxer and wants to compete for India so that when she’s on the world stage people will listen to her voice about the injustice meted out to her people. Her father meanwhile, as the head of one of the militant groups feels that there is no hope in talks with the Indian government and that violence is necessary. In the mix also are the politicians – the wily minister (Kumud Mishra) and his right hand man Abrar Bhatt (Pahwa) who want to sign a peace accord with one of the larger militant groups, the Tiger Sangha.

The many layers to the story become clear to us little by little. Given that the topic is complex, and the film a little dense, the viewer is left to his own means to piece together the story. Having a voice-over, or even a character narrating the story (maybe as a flashback), would have really helped make the film and the film’s core issue more approachable and understandable for the average movie-goer.

The film is told from the point of view of the north easterners, estranged from the Indian mainland and facing racism even as Indian citizens. The politicians are shown as wanting a peace accord accord but not really caring about long-term resolution. In the middle is Joshua who comes into this initially at the behest of his politician masters, but then makes up his own mind.

The films pace is sporadic. There are bursts of quick action interspersed with lulls so the film never really takes off. Director Anubhav Sinha picks important topics about the state of the country, and has a penchant for dishing out home-truths. He also directed the fabulous Article 15 but while that was superbly intense Anek falters.

Ayushmann Khurrana looks very different from his usual self and his acting is not as good – there was this particular mode he seemed to go into at times, where I could not tell if his character was angry or frustrated or just plain at his wit’s end. Northeastern actress Andrea Kevichusko is quite good and the supporting cast also does well. While the film is earnest and tries to tell some truths it can’t get across its message in an interesting fashion. Anek suffers from clunky writing and lackluster storytelling.

Kidwise: Violence, and talk of violence.

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Movie Review : Jug Jugg Jeeyo (2022)

Posted on July 8, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Drama
Year: 2022
Running time: 2 hours
Director: Raj Mehta
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Varun Dhawan, Neetu Kapoor
Kid rating: PG-13

Jug jugg Jeeyo is about a dysfunctional family in which the son, Kukkoo (Varun Dhawan) and the daughter-in-law Naina (Kiara Advani) live in Toronto, Canada, far from their families in Punjab. Kukkoo, although initially in love with his childhood sweetheart has grown apart from her. Ditto for her. They both want a divorce but decide to keep mum until Kukkoo’s sister’s wedding, which is happening soon, is over. When they reach India however they discover that theirs is not the only marriage breaking up.

The film is situated in Patiala, Punjab in a traditional family setup where the father (Anil Kapoor) is a patriarch and the head of the family, and the mother (Neetu Kapoor) is the loving, considerate care-taker of the family, feeding everyone parathas (remember this is Punjab, per Bollywood standards). I also say typically Punjabi because this is full of sound effects and music and little comedic asides. Every scene has dhol or music or some reference to party-sharty/khana-shana/daaru-shaaru/Punjabi munde so it’s very loud – it is a Karan Johar production through and through.

The film tries to show that people can grow apart at any point in their lives for many different reasons. It also emphasizes that marriage takes effort from both partners, but tries to do it without allocating any blame (even where it’s due!). While Kukoo feels threatened by his wife’s professional success, his father wants to leave his wife for another woman. Kukkoo is shown as a little repentant and realizing his mistakes, while Papaji who could take some learning, is essentially unchanged. It’s all very macho Punjabi – with a hefty dose of the boys-will-be-boys philosophy.

While the broad theme of Jug Jugg Jeeyo is obvious the film does not have a strong screenplay, so there are lots of little incidents juxtaposed around each other without coherence. Too much noise and too little substance (director Raj Meta’s last venture was Good Newzz) ! It feels very much like a script-less film, almost as though they started with one idea and just kept building little scenes as the fancy took them.

Even so the film is not un-entertaining. All the actors actually do well. Anil Kapoor is his usual energetic self, although a tad one-tone, as the patriarch who misses the whiff of romance. Varun Dhawan as Kukoo is his robustly Punjabi son, hankering for the homeland. Neetu Kapoor is quite lovely as the domestic mater with a mind of her own and Kiara Advani, as beautiful daughter-in-law Naina is quite believable. My favorite scene of the film had the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law having a wonderful heart-to-heart over wine.

While Jug Jugg Jeeyo is not going to win any awards for authenticity, it is is a decent Friday night entertainer. Don’t go looking for subtlety and deep meaning in this loud melodrama, and you will be well pleased.

Kidwise: Couple of borderline salacious scenes featuring a bachelor party and women, although nothing explicit is ever shown on screen.

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Movie Review : Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021)

Posted on July 1, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre: Drama
Year: 2021
Running time: 2 hours
Director: Abhishek Kapoor
Cast: Ayushmann Khurana, Vaani Kapoor, Kanwaljeet Singh, Anjan Srivastava
Kid rating: PG-13

Manvinder “Manu” Munjal (Khurana) is a gym owner and body-builder and Maanvi Brar (Kapoor) is a lovely young Zumba teacher who teaches in Manu’s gym. The two fall in love, but when Maanvi reveals a big personal secret Manu feels cheated and breaks off the relationship. 

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is about a relationship between a heterosexual man and a trans woman and deals with the acceptance of transfolk as normal members of society. The film presents its topic with humor, using macho Manu, his Punjabi friends and his conservative family as mouthpieces to voice the common misperceptions and prejudices with regards to transfolk. Not only are Manu’s family aghast at the idea, Maanvi’s mother herself had distanced herself from Maanvi because of her gender reassignment. 

Ayushmann delivers a strong performance, but we didn’t expect any less. Vaani Kapoor is really good here too, by turns tremulous and stoic, as Maanvi remembers past indignities and insults hurled at her by family, friends and society in general. It was nice to see Kanwaljeet Singh as Maanvi’s supportive dad. Manu’s family, while a little stereo-typed, does probably represent typical middle-class outlook.

Chandigarh Kare Ashiqui deals with a serious topic, but in a light, humorous vein – and succeeds because it does get us to feel for Maanvi’s hard choices and her struggle to find acceptance and happiness. The film is well-paced, has peppy music and keeps one engrossed. Director Abhishek Kapoor (Kai Po Che, Rock On) takes a progressive note with this film and delivers a breezy entertainer.

Kidwise: Kids probably aren’t the right audience for this, unless well-educated about the issue. The film features discussions about sexual orientation and graphics of the actual procedure.

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Series Review : Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein (2022)

Posted on June 24, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre : Drama
Year : 2022
Seasons: 1 Episodes: 8
Director : Sidharth Sengupta
Cast : Tahir Raj Bhasin, Shweta Tripathi, Aanchal Singh, Saurabh Shukla
Kid rating : PG-17

Honestly, I hadn’t expected much from Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein, but this turned out to be surprisingly good! A little gory and violent and unexpectedly intense, but in a good way.

Fresh graduate Vikrant Singh Chauhan (Bhasin) has plans for the future. These involve girlfriend Shikha (Shweta Tripathi) and moving out from the small town of Onkara where his parents live. Vikrant’s father  (Brijendra Kala) works for Akhiraj Awasthi (Saurabh Shukla) the local powerful politician of Onkara, and tries to persuade Vikrant to also come work there, especially when Akhiraj offers Vikrant a well-paying job. Akhiraj’s daughter Purva (Singh) has a crush on Vikrant and is determined to marry him. Vikrant is adamant on escaping the violent fiefdom though, but when subtle pressure is applied by Akhiraj and his goons (to ensure Purwa’s happiness), Vikrant decides to play it smart, and bide his time. 

Season 1 of Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein has bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Vikrant slowly come to terms with Akhiraj Singh’s violent ways and the real threat he poses to Vikrant’s family and girlfriend. His rosy dreams crushed, Vikrant needs to find a way out of this thorny predicament. His parents are shown as undoubting supporters of Akhiraj, attributing all their happiness to him, and consider Vikrant a fool for daring to refuse Akhiraj’s generous offer, especially when that offer includes becoming Purva’s husband and future heir to all of Akhiraj’s wealth and power.

The series reminds me of the Urmila Matondkar starrer Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya. Purva here mirrors Urmila’s character in that movie – the canny, obsessive female wanting her man at any cost. The series does a great job keeping us engrossed. It moves fast, and unpredictably, and we go from what we think is a tepid small-town tale to an intense drama where conversations are sprinkled with casual references of severed limbs and murder.

Tahir Raj Bhasin, while not the most charismatic of actors does well here. Aanchal Singh as the off-kilter Purva Awasthi is marvelous, changing colors chameleon-like, mellow and soft-spoken one moment, and clever and calculating the next. Shweta Tripathi is in yet another small-town, well-educated girl role (remember Mirzapur and Laakhon Mein Ek?) But she delivers the goods. The fantastic Sarah Shukla, Brijendra Kala and Surya Sharma (as the menacing Dharmesh) round off the great cast.

While a great watch, Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein could have used a little more thought into the development of relationships as in – Vikrant and Shikha’s bond. Also it wan’t quite clear to me why Vikrant’s parents regarded Akhiraj with such unadulterated adoration and couldn’t see his menace. The hero himself could have used some logical thinking and strategy.

Regardless, this is a well-made entertainer. Do watch!

Kidwise: Violence and foul language. 

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Movie Review : Janhit Mein Jaari (2022)

Posted on June 17, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre: Drama
Year: 2022
Running time: 2 hours
Director: Jai Basantu Singh
Cast: Nushrrat Bharucha, Anud Singh Dhaka, Vijay Raaz, Brijendra Kala
Kid rating: PG-15

Janhit Mein Jaari, from its trailer, seemed a mix of humor and serious issues. It turned out to be actually that, and is a decent one-time watch, although rather rough around the edges.

Our heroine Manokamna ‘Manu’ Tripathi (Bharucha) of small town Chanderi is desperate to get a job and escape the parental nagging to get married. When she unwittingly snags a job selling condoms, she decides to keep it despite familial disapproval. The parents can be appeased, but how will boyfriend Ranjan Prajapati (Dhaka) and his family countenance a not-so-sanskari condom-selling bahu?

Janhit Mein Jaari (meaning: Issued in Public Interest) has a strong and funny premise. So yes, there’s a story, although it doesn’t have any logical flow. The first half of the film is entertaining, but the second starts to disintegrate when social issues and “world good” is pushed forcibly into the story. This film doesn’t know how to balance its Public Service Announcement (PSA) factor with its humor. One gets the feeling that director Singh couldn’t figure out what he wanted the film to be – it was a family drama, until it turned into a PSA, and then pointless, overdone emotional melodrama took over. 

This film does the small-town milieu well. This has been done before in films like Tanu Weds Manu but where that film did with it with polish and panache, this one does it with hammy, slightly overdone characters. 

The main characters show unrealistic shifts in their thought process. The heroine Manu displays independence of spirit, but turns into the dutiful bahu almost immediately after marriage. Then she decides she’d rather chuck the “good bahu” image because she’s found a calling. There was no logical growth, or a gradual sophistication to her thinking; it was just black one day and white another. You didn’t really believe her then when she goes on full-on crusade mode.

Similar treatment has been meted out to Vijay Raaz’s character. Raaz plays Manu’s father-in-law, contesting elections and very concerned about the family honor and image. Of course he looks askance at the condom-selling bahu, but then does a complete about-turn (this is Bollywood after all) with appropriate tears, drama and repentance towards the end.

While Bharucha makes the most of her rather one-toned character, I’m rather disappointed in Anud Singh Dhaka’s weak and inconsistent performance. I’d expected better after seeing him in the beautiful series Taj Mahal 1989 where he did very well. Or was that director Pushpendra Nath Singh working his magic?

Vijay Raaz is impeccable despite his poorly sketched character. And I rather liked the supporting cast – especially the other bhabhis in the household; each of them was interesting and deserves their own storylines. 

With this kind of story, there is the real danger that the film slips into vulgarity (many do) but thankfully that doesn’t happen here. There are some cringeworthy scenes like the Holi song and there is humor that is very much on the verge of being crass, but it doesn’t quite get there.

Director Singh can tell a story but does it in an unskilled, rather rough-edged fashion. The poor editing and abrupt transitions don’t help. Janhit Mein Jaari has a good pace, plenty of actual laughs, a talented cast and enough masala to keep you reasonably engrossed. It is a decent one time watch, but could have been a far more believable, polished movie in the hands of a better director.

Kidwise: A lot of talk about condoms. Some talk about sex and contraception.

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Movie Review : Jalsa (2022)

Posted on June 10, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre: Drama
Year: 2022
Running time: 2 hours 6 minutes
Director: Suresh Triveni
Cast: Vidya Balan, Shefali Chaya, Rohini Hattangadi, Manav Kaul, Surya Kasibhatla
Kid rating: PG

Vidya Balan is Maya Menon, an outspoken journalist and TV anchor. She is also a single mother, and lives with her son Ayush and mother (Rohini Hattangadi). Rukhsana Mohammad (Shah) is her loyal maid, who helps look after Ayush who has cerebral palsy. When, one night, driving home from work, Maya is involved in an accident, she panics and leaves a girl bleeding on the road. Shaken, she returns home, doesn’t tell anyone and attempts to get rid of/clean up the evidence linking her to the accident. The next day she realizes that the nameless, faceless, young girl she left bleeding on the road is her maid Rukhsana’s daughter, the very same Ruksana who looks after Ayush so lovingly.

Jalsa is about a moral quandary. Maya, the outspoken upholder of truth finds herself in a situation she’d rather keep mum about. Ruksana is the distraught mother who is grateful to her employer for her help with her daughter not knowing that Maya herself is responsible. The film takes an incident and presents points of view from all around it. Nothing is black and white; each person involved has his/her own problems and pressures.

Director Suresh Triveni makes a fine film, etching out his characters realistically and presenting them to us, the viewers, as real people with moral and personal conundrums. Both Shah and Balan are marvelous. Rohini Hattangadi has a small role as Maya’s mother but she is superb in it. Surya Kasibhatla as Ayush and Shafeen Patel as Ruksana’s young son Imad are very good too.

Jalsa (celebration) is a slow-moving thriller and emotional drama. The first half deals with the accident, Maya’s mental perturbation, and her fear of being found out. The latter part of the film delves deep into issues of the class divide, morality, right and wrong.

Kidwise: Rather weighty for the younger ones. A few adult situations, although nothing explicit is shown.

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Series Review : Kota Factory (2021)

Posted on June 4, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre : Comedy
Year : 2022
Seasons: 2
Director : Raghav Subbu
Cast : Jitendra Kumar, Mayur More, Ranjan Raj, Alam Khan
Kid rating : PG-15

From the TVF stable, Kota Factory initially released on YouTube and was widely appreciated before its release on Netflix. Kota is a city in India which is famous for its coaching academies and students come here from all over the country to prepare for the IIT JEE (Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Exam). This then is the “factory” spewing out worthy candidates who can hope to crack the JEE. 

Most of these coaching institutes are residential schools where students come and live, and study for the JEE entrance as well as complete coursework for the 11th and 12th grades. Most of the time is spent in preparing for the JEE, the attention to required school grades (11th and 12th) is perfunctory.

Kota Factory is the story of one particular student, Vaibhav Pandey (Mayur More) who wants to join the reputed Maheshwari Coaching classes but is not able to do so. He settles for the next best option – Prodigy Classes, where he intends to work very hard with a view to switching to Maheshwari later. At Prodigy, he makes friends and talks to the teachers. Uday Gupta (Alam Khan) and Balmukund Meena (Ranjan Raj) become especially good friends and Vaibhav comes to look up to one teacher, Jeetu Bhaiyya, in particular. Jeetu Bhaiya (Jitendra Kumar) while being an excellent teacher also helps the students overcome personal issues like loneliness, sickness and helps keep their morale up.

Kota Factory is shot in black and white, and is an engrossing and entertaining show. We root for Vaibhav and are as impressed with Jeetu Bhaiiya as Vaibhav is. The writing (by Saurabh Khanna) is excellent, and the series is beautifully made. The actors do very well, the series is well-paced and entertaining, offering up plentiful drama, twists and turns, and humor. Also some great music.

Kota Factory has 2 relatively short seasons (a third is in production) and is another feather in the cap for TVF. This is a must watch!

Kidwise: Some episodes veer into adult situations, but for the most part this is quite family-friendly.

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