Our obsession as a nation with civil services and bureaucracy often leads young people to invest long, toilsome years of their life into preparing for the UPSC exam. Though the aspirants might start on a wave of hope, focus and discipline, they are given little preparation or warning for what is to truly come. For instance, what happens just in case all their hard work is still not enough? Or what more is needed of them beyond simply long hours of study? These are some of the many questions that the latest offering by TVF, Aspirants, raises, while also attempting an answer.

TVF's Aspirants | The Viral Fever | UPSC | Web Series

TVF's Aspirants | Web Series | Episode 1 | UPSC - Optional Me Kya Hai?

UPSC - Optional Me Kya Hai?

TVF's Aspirants | Web Series | Episode 2 | Teacher Sahi Hona Chahiye

Teacher Sahi Hona Chahiye

TVF's Aspirants | Episode 3 | Positive Approach Rakh Yaar

Positive Approach Rakh Yaar

TVF's Aspirants | Episode 4 | Plan B Kya Hai?

Plan B Kya Hai?

TVF's Aspirants | Episode 5 | Pre... Mains Aur Life | Season Finale

Pre... Mains Aur Life

TVF's Aspirants

When talking about college life, the norm is to adopt a lighthearted tone, with a garnish of drama every now and then. Consequently, a show like Operation MBBS which shatters this mould, promises to infuse a fresh breath of air in the Indian web series space. With a potentially poignant portrayal of the struggles of the students of a medical college, it becomes an engagement with peer pressure, past traumas, familial expectations and the constant struggle to perform irrespective of them all. The show seems to employ drama in an artful way, perhaps offering a little bit of something for viewers with varied expectations.

Dice Media | Operation MBBS | Web Series

Dice Media | Operation MBBS - Episode 01 - Infection

Ep 01 - Infection

Dice Media | Operation MBBS | Web Series | Episode 2 - Diagnosis

Ep 02 - Diagnosis

Dice Media | Operation MBBS | Web Series | Episode 3 - Complications ft. Ayush Mehra

Ep 03 - Complications

Dice Media | Operation MBBS | Web Series | Episode 4 - Surgery

Ep 04 - Surgery

Dice Media | Operation MBBS | Web Series | Episode 5 - Recovery

Ep 05 - Recovery

Dice Media | Operation MBBS | Season 2 | Web Series | Episode 1 - Honeymoon Period

Ep 01 - Honeymoon Period

Dice Media | Operation MBBS | Season 2 | Web Series | Episode 2 - Donning

Ep 02 - Donning

Dice Media | Operation MBBS | Season 2 | Web Series | Episode 3 - Patient Zero

Ep 03 - Patient Zero

Dice Media | Operation MBBS | Season 2 | Web Series | Episode 4 - Lockdown

Ep 04 - Lockdown

Dice Media | Operation MBBS | Season 2 | Web Series | Episode 5 - Critical Condition

Ep 05 - Critical Condition

Operation MBBS | Dice Media | Web Series

There is something to be said, and mostly good things, about films which open on a note that is deliberately opposite of the direction they are headed in. The film is a paradigmatic example of the same. Our first introduction to the chirpy, cheery protagonist Adarsh is primarily through a phone call with his mother, who matches the same cheeriness. He is not the best at sports or academics, but that is a truth the mother is kept safe from. Instead, Adarsh paints for her a picture of popularity among his peers, and regales her with tales of his athletic success. 

 Inane white lies at first glance, simply serving to make the viewer smile, sometimes with and sometimes at the protagonist, these stories come to have a disconcerting echo on the rest of the narrative. As it progresses, and the rigmarole of lies gets more complex, an equally unsettling reality is unfolding at the mother’s end as well. 

 With only suggestions of domestic strife, and a longer glimpse into the unravelling of Adarsh’s tales, the film weaves its plot together. The storytelling is intelligent and heartfelt, the performances on point and the writing notably skilled. The final result of ‘Abey Chhod Na Yaar’ constructs for us a world of denial, and perhaps deliberate, perhaps involuntary, flights of fancy away from a reality that might sometimes be a little too hard and rough for the characters to accept as their truth.

Abey Chhod Na Yaar | Short Film of the Month

Right from the beginning, the narrative comes across as being deeply unsettling, without giving any explicit reason for it, thereby making it all the more involving. It progresses to eventually reveal a harsh reality of verbal abuse that a boy is subjected to by presumably his father. By simply portraying this situation, the film draws to attention the issue of mental health among Indian students. Further, the lockdown that followed the coronavirus pandemic, exacerbated these pressures and stressors even more, suggests the plot. At the heart of the film is a reminder of the absolute importance of communication between parents, guardians and society on the whole, and how students might find themselves turning to the cruel voices inside if not allowed this channel. It is the expression of this concern that becomes the most notable aspect of the film.

Talk | Short Film of the Day

The film locates itself in a pandemic-stricken world where a woman struggles to ensure her daughter does not miss her online classes. A smartphone is absolutely imperative for these classes, but Shalini’s young daughter, Aami accidentally broke theirs. 

Now Shalini struggles between jobs, even at the cost of her own well-being, to ensure that she somehow puts enough money together for a new phone. In the process, not only does the narrative draw a very clear boundary between the haves and the have-nots, but it does so without letting itself get consumed by sentimentalism. Inherent to the narrative is also the idea of the many sadnesses that many of us carry within. 

If for someone it is the struggle to make ends meet, for another it is being stuck in an oppressive job where you can only nod and suffer in silence at the hands of a cruel boss, and for yet another, it is the longing and memory of a lost loved one. Aami, the little daughter, too notices the sacrifices her mother makes while putting on a brave face all along, and it is primarily this courage and perseverance of character that the film preoccupies itself with, in a sincere, devoted manner.

Shalini | Short Film Nominee

Krish is preparing for the medical entrance exam that is due in thirty-six days. Anyone who has been an
aspirant would know the strenuous preparation that such an endeavour demands. Krish studies for more than eighteen
hours a day, yet finds it difficult to pass his mock tests. 
The film depicts his isolation which is in part, self- imposed, but in part also mandated by the extensive
syllabus he has to cover. Cutting himself of all ties, familial and social, the protagonist has become like a
machine that is only programmed to study. 
One night, a friend who has decided to move out of his house after a fight with his parents, knocks
on Krish’s door. This friend, who is reckless and carefree, forcefully takes Krish to a party. Is this friend
the devil in disguise or a saviour who has come to rescue Krish from his misery? 
The film not only makes an important intervention on the pressures that students put on themselves
to succeed in the only (conventional) way that they are taught is available to them, but also stresses the pleasures
of life, that are as much a part of a student’s well-being, and must be enjoyed rightfully.

That Night | Short Film of the Day

‘Nutmeg’ is a riot of colors, and a deliberate and entertaining disarray. A group of boys move about the limited physical space of this bottle episode-esque set-up. A boy is very disappointed at not making it to the football team. The spectators to his sorrow include lackeys, stoners, uninterested lurkers, and of course, the viewer. The narrative does a commendable job of maintaining consistency of approach, and roping in a sense of absurdism, while exhibiting deep potential in storytelling. It further evidences innovative use of surroundings and aesthetics to share its intentions with you, leaving one with the promise of more storytelling on similar lines.

Nutmeg | Short Film Nominee

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