‘Kota Factory Season 2’ Review: Aims Big, But Misses

*Insert inspirational quote about studying by Jeetu Bhaiya here*

When the Kota Factory Season 2 release date was announced, it sent waves of excitement among TVF fans. Unlike its predecessor which is available for free viewing on YouTube, the second season is only available on Netflix. Directed by Raghav Subbu and written by Saurabh Khanna and Abhishek Yadav, the series continues to explore the lives of students in Kota.

This season was well-received, and the Kota Factory IMDB rating stands at 9.2. I only recently got around to ‘acquiring’ a Netflix password, and so here is my spoiler free-review. The views expressed in this article are entirely my own. Don’t like reading long posts? Jump to the summary.

Keeping Up With The Kota Kids

Along with the original Kota Factory cast, we get to meet new side characters this season. Mayur More reprises his role of Itarsi-boy Vaibhav Pandey, now a student of the oh-so-prestigious Maheshwari classes. He and his new roommate Sushrut (affectionately known as Susu, played by Vaibhav Thakkar) gear up to start their new classes. This scene is in full color, hinting that Vaibhav has regained his confidence and is moving ahead with a newfound optimism. However, the colors drain out after a terror-inducing brainwash session by coaching-don Sir Keshav Maheshwari (played brilliantly by Sameer Saxena.) Our hero realizes he has just entered the competitive world of IIT-JEE prep, aka the Kota factory, and the road is tougher.

*Are we back together? Duh, we are the main characters.*

Meanwhile, Jeetu Bhaiya (Jitendra Kumar), is facing challenges of his own. He has decided to become an entrepreneur just like his character in TVF Pitchers and opened a coaching institute. He gives it the cheesy name ‘Aimers.’ In true Jeetu Bhaiya fashion, he emphasizes how IIT is not a dream, it is an aim.

As for the side characters, Revathi Pillai makes a re-appearance as Vartika. Ahsaas Channa reprises her role of no-nonsense Shivangi, and Alam Khan returns as slacker Uday. Urvi Singh plays Meenal Parekh again, but sadly she has no important scenes. Ranjan Raj returns as the wholesome sidekick Balmukund Meena, but he has no substantial storyline.

The Empire: Kota Coaching Edition

Mix a thousand liters of ‘commodified education’ with a million grams of ‘young, bright-eyed students.’ Add a generous amount of ‘teachers who can teach plus-two level subjects and don’t get paid enough in schools.’ Boil this over the high heat of competition for 2 to 3 years. That is the recipe for a Kota Coaching Center.

Through Jeetu’s ambitious journey, the series explores the business models of Kota’s coaching centers. There is a lot of money and politics involved, the stakes are high, and for the first time ever, we see Jeetu flustered.

Rajesh Kumar (better known as Rosesh from Sarabhai vs Sarabhai) flawlessly portrays a cool-headed mathematics teacher, who knows and accepts the coaching business. Then there are other cogs in the machine. There are teachers who defect from institutes for money, teachers who are highly qualified but not good in classrooms, and business owners who bicker when their ROI is less than acceptable. Looming over them all are the Kota legends, such as Agrawal Sir (based on VK Bansal), whom Jeetu seeks out for business advice.

The showrunners also brilliantly explore the marketing side of the coaching business, even the shady aspects, and how they are in a competition not unlike the JEE race.

The Cruel, Cruel World of Kota

Maheshwari classes proves to be a daunting experience for Vaibhav. He struggles with the syllabus, sneaks out to Jeetu Bhaiya’s classes, dodges the doubts of his roomie. He also overcomes his shyness around Vartika, and battles physical illness. Because he is our main character and Jeetu Bhaiya’s center of attention, he survives everything.

*All is well, all is well, all is well…wait this show is the opposite of 3 Idiots.*

Vaibhav’s journey is mostly positive and to some extent, inspiring. In the words of Kota Factory creator Saurabh Khanna, Vaibhav chose to do IIT prep and is working hard towards this goal for himself. (You can check out the full interview here.) And he isn’t really wrong. Vaibhav has a healthy attitude, does not doubt himself, does not absorb any negativity around him, and works hard.

Sadly, not everyone can be like Vaibhav. This brings us to the elephant in the room: Kota and mental health.

The biggest criticism of the first season came from concerned viewers who thought that the black-and-white series painted a rather rosy picture of Kota. This season finally addressed the despair of rejection and student suicide. At the center of this storyline is Jeetu Bhaiya, who parties with rejected students, congratulates them for being strong enough to set a giant aim and failing.

Sigh. I have a lot to say here. The next paragraph is a digression from the Kota Factory review, so you can skip to the good parts.

The Competitive Exam Madness Needs to End (Trigger Warning: Rant)

Raise your hand if you have prepared for any competitive exams in the past. Now, raise both hands if it was IIT JEE. Raise your left leg if you are still preparing for competitive exams. Raise the right one if you have wasted years of your life studying and attempting such exams. Finally, raise your middle finger to the world if you are tired of this system.

Now take a deep breath and ask yourself: What motivated you to appear for JEE/GATE/CAT/ZUBAT/GOLBAT?

*Only the dead have seen the end of war – Plato Bhaiya*

I have seen countless students who ruin years trying to crack an exam. Any exam. They spend fruitless years in Kota, make numerous attempts at GATE/CAT just to ‘prove’ themselves, continue to labor for government exams till their 30s, fail, and find themselves tired and jobless. When does this purposeless crack-fest end?

Jeetu Bhaiya’s character shows remorse when he realizes that he failed one of his students. What he does not realize is that he is a part of the problem. It is foolish to tell a teenager that they are awesome for ‘having a big aim’, when the aim is a competitive exam they have to fact at age 17. Stop doling out heavy philosophical nonsense about life as a whole while zooming in on one exam.

Here is what the Jeetu-esque motivators will not tell you: It is okay to set achievable goals without feeling inadequate. You do not need to crack an exam to prove your worth. We do not live in 1990s anymore, you have more options, and you have a life ahead of you.

*This is how my readers are exiting this page after reading the rant.*

Let Us Talk About the Positives

While this season was disappointing for me, it wasn’t all bad. I enjoyed watching it even though I didn’t agree with a lot of it.

The direction is flawless, and the story is engaging. I cannot praise the cinematography of specific scenes without spilling some spoilers, so I will let you watch it. (It’s a treat to the eyes, trust me.) As for the dialogs, they retain the classic TVF-wit and the influx of ‘Kota Factory quotes’ all over Instagram are proof enough.

Simran Hora works his music magic again, I mean, how can you not loop the rock version of The Gentleman! Karthik Rao deserves all the praise for the impactful track ‘All India Rank 1’ which just ties the scene together. TVF regular Vaibhav Bundhoo gives us a treat with the romantic number Tere Jaisa. While Mohabbat Zindabad in season 1 highlighted the beginning of a crush, Tere Jaisa takes it a step ahead.

*We should never break up, this background music is dope.*

Just like all TVF shows, friendship is a central theme in Kota Factory. Uday, Vaibhav and Meena’s shenanigans remind the viewer that despite the deeper themes of the show, the protagonists are still children. The Vartika-Vaibhav romance is tastefully executed, and I cannot help but root for both of them.

The Bottom Line

Kota Factory Season 2 is dramatic, insightful, but somewhat misses the mark. The acting is superb, the music complements the story perfectly, and the direction is at par with the first season. Watch this show only for entertainment, as it offers a rather anomalous perspective on Kota. You can watch it on Netflix. If you haven’t watched Kota Factory Season 1 yet, you can watch it for free on YouTube and TVFPlay.