Kota Factory Season 1

Introduction 

Kota Factory is a story of aspirants that wish to crack the IIT entrance exams. Capturing all the hoots that follow, the show beautifully showcases the struggles and challenges faced by the group in this journey and moments where their personal lives also took a backseat.

The series also showcases the essence of true friendship (especially in teen years) in little, impactful moments shared by the protagonists, followed by the monopoly of coaching institutes, the repercussion of overpressuring in this journey, and a lot more! 

One of the most striking takeaways from this series is the monochromatic tone of the show, making it India's first-ever web series to be showcased as black and white, leaving it as nothing but a huge success.

Table of Contents

• Details

• Story

• Release

• Cast

• Crew

• Character Analysis

• Seasons

• Behind The Scenes

• Controversy

• Ratings

• Awards

• Interesting Facts

• Conclusion

Details

Story

PlayThe show begins with Vaibhav, the protagonist, coming to Kota in the middle of an academic year, barely making it to the last batch of Prodigy coaching classes (in alternative to Maheshwari, a leading institution for IIT-aspirants). Therein, he meets Meena, who is his very first peer (and flatmate) there. The next set of episodes focuses on how Vaibhav struggles with his sleep, his eating habits go for a toss, and he feels overwhelmed about everything happening in his life. This is when Jeetu Bhaiya comes into the picture and shares his journey - helping him prioritise and manage his subjects in the right manner. The middle of Season 1 also gives us butterflies when Vaibhav meets Vartika and starts spending more time with her.

The season ends with Vaibhav making it to Maheshwari's classes but feeling extremely demotivated because of the sudden change. Despite sheer reluctance, Vaibhav talks his heart out to Jeetu Bhaiya and decides to join Maheshwari.

Release

This show is available on Netflix. The first season was aired on 16 April 2019.

Cast

Crew

• Director: Raghav Subbu

• Cinematographer: Jerin Paul

• Producer: The Viral Fever

• Composer: Karthik Rao, Simran Hora

• Editor: Gourav Gopal Jha

• Written By: Tamojit Das

• Soundtrack Producer: Ankur Tewari (Season 1)

• Associate Editor: Ravi Shankar Shukla

• On Set BTS: Kyra Kion & Harsh Garg

Character Analysis

• Mayur More as Vaibhav: Vaibhav is the main character of Kota Factory and follows a character's development in tandem with the story of the show. Each stage of his life is parallel to the situation his peers are facing at the institute, making every character around him associate in the most empathetic way possible. Vaibhav is a responsible, concerned, and extremely hardworking student, idolizing an aspirant's life in the best possible manner. 

• Ranjan Raj as Balmukund Meena: Meena is one of the most earnest characters on the show, with an exemplary portrayal of what true, unbinding friendship stands for. His character also strongly displays the expectations and rituals of society, making him drive out of his comfort zone for the people he cares for more often than ever.

• Alaam Khan as Uday Gupta: Uday Gupta is the most carefree and charming of the three friends, giving the audience chucklesome moments throughout both seasons. His wit and instant reactions to everything make him steal the spotlight in some scenes and be the one friend everyone needs! 

• Jitendra Kumar as Jeetu Bhaiya: Jeetu Bhaiya is the most worshipped character of this show, making him the ideal go-to person for all students sitting for the entrance exam - not just for academic support but also to vent out and share their struggles and personal problems. The writers perfectly positioned his character as "Hasmukh, Milansar & Chanchal", with a montage of emotions that kept everyone hooked to the show.

Kota Factory Seasons

Behind the scenes

• In some interviews, Saurabh Khanna expressed how it took him a while to convince the entire team to understand the monochromatic colour scheme approach. This did create an impact in the minds of the viewers, standing as a strong reason for the success of the show as well. 

• Kota Factory was released in sponsorship with Unacademy to set the context and promote the series in accordance with the storyline. The show made an impactful surround sound across social media as well, especially amongst Gen Z audiences. 

Controversy 

While Kota Factory sprinkled emotions of love and friendship amongst the audience, it also stirred a conversation that interpreted them as misguiding students apropos the subject. For instance, some people have pointed out how Jeetu Bhaiya advises Vaibhav to focus on 40% of the paper so as to get into IIT - which neglects how the student might not get their preferable branch basis interest and scope. It also creates demotivation among aspirants owing to how toppers score more than 60% as well. 

Rating

IMDb Rating: 9.0/10

Awards

Interesting Facts

• The inspiration for shooting/editing and screening this show in black and white came from creating a space of colourlessness, disconnection, and monotony. The team mentioned how the entire series was originally shot in colour but was later converted to a monochromatic tone amid its post-production stage. This idea was inspired by Schindler's List (another series with the same colour theme), which portrays the agony of Jews under the Nazis. 

• Jeetu Bhaiya i.e., Jitendra Kumar, is actually an ex-IITian.

Conclusion

With the third season being on the card, the audience is excited to see what happens next: from self-annihilation to a heartfelt celebration, Kota Factory resonates with one and all.