The docuseries offers a few interesting perspectives, but misses the mark overall!
“There are only two types of engineers the ones who are IITians, and those who wish they were IITians.” This pompous statement marks the beginning of the three-part docuseries, which attempts to show us student life in IIT Kharagpur. The series then informs us that Kharagpur was established by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1951 to ‘show the world how far India could go’, adding that the IIT acceptance rate is more stringent than Ivy-league universities.
Director Pratik Patra and Prashant Raj are IIT alumni, and the insider’s gaze shows. Unfortunately, it often leaves out outsiders with no connection to the IIT experience. And so, the series, which is undoubtedly interesting in parts, unfolds like a family movie with inside jokes. So enclosed is the storytelling that interviewees are introduced as ‘Ashok Da Azad Hall’ which make no sense to an outsider.