Its no secret that Kota, a city in Rajasthan, is synonymous with its hundreds of coaching centres buzzing with students prepping for IIT JEE and medical entrance exams. And with TVF series Kota Factory touching upon the subject with much sensitiveness and realism, the expectations of a viewer with the new series Crash Course are somewhat similar. But this one goes way beyond the tough lives of these IIT aspirants and their struggle at the coaching centres as they literally get into a bloodbath to outdo the other.
With a lot more dramatization and side stories of students as well as the teachers and institute owners, Crash Course has too much going on in its more than 7.5 hours runtime. And one question that looms large at every turning point is – how much of this could actually be true? Also read: Annu Kapoor says ‘kaun hai’ Aamir Khan on being asked about Laal Singh Chaddha: ‘I don’t watch films’
Coming back to Kota Factory that had its Jeetu bhaiya as the one teacher that every student wanted, Crash Course, too, has its own charm in AK Sir, Pranay Pachauri. He spins the same magic with his ways of teaching and his good looks only add to the appeal. But while Jeetu bhaiya and his bunch of innocent students connected with the audience in a very realistic way, AK sir’s decision to tutor a girl from a rival institute at his home sets the ground for a series that would rather fall into a drama than an academic docuseries like Kota Factory.
Crash Course is spearheaded by Annu Kapoor’s Ratanraj Jindal, the owner of a forever-growing line of coaching institutes in Kota. So much so, that he dreams of dominating the city and renaming it to RJ Nagar one day. With hardly a bone of goodness in him, Annu Kapoor is less of an educationist and more of an unstoppable businessman who would go to all lengths to get his students the top ten ranks in IIT JEE. While Kota Factory touched upon student and teachers’ poaching at a primary level, Crash Course’s Annu Kapoor goes on a ruthless hunt, overtaking institutes, poaching their students and even introducing banned medicines to get his students to perform better than the rest in the entrance exams. At times, he even comes across as the ‘villain’ who won’t bat an eyelid in using a student’s suicide to his advantage.
Crash Course stands far from Kota Factory in realism but does take credit for addressing student suicides, parental pressure, the distractions they face away from home, love angles, teenage pregnancy and even drugs. It diverts from the students to the bloodbath amid institute owners in the second half, and thereafter no student is spotted with a book in hand. The Amazon Prime series has all that it takes to make for an inviting binge watch but not without a question on how much could actually be true.
Student suicides is a dark reality in the world of competition and the show deserves credit for how it throws light through three candidates’ stories. It forces us to think about all that could have been done to not let it happen. The way the series opens with a suicide attempt and ends at the apocalyptic effects of a suicide, it leaves the viewer with a lot to ponder over.
I did miss the way Kota Factory struck the right chord in half the runtime, with the rarely used monochrome setting adding to the effect. And when I thought Crash Course had gone way too offtrack after a similar first half, the last two episodes manage to bring back my interest, though it continues to be very dramatic. Like Kota Factory, this one too does the trick with some impressive soundtracks to maintain the mood. The show may not have the monochrome effect but can’t be judged for focusing more on the entertaining aspect. It does manage to be sensitive with its way of picturising a suicide in the end. Though Crash Course is too similar to Kota Factory in the beginning, it makes me wonder if I should better not compare them at all, at least for the sake of the subject they touch upon.