It is a good movie. A fresh breath of air, something different. You would think that it is a movie like 3 idiots or 12th fail, but it is not! It shows the struggles of a boy who is phasing into adulthood and trying to fulfill his parent's dream (for him). But the story explores so many thematics - friendship, dreams and realities, parent, studies, competition, betrayal, love - in a simple narrative. The story captures you in a loop of nostalgia and has glimpse of every emotions, from laughing to being sad. Overall, it is a well made movie where at the end it leaves you with an important lesson in life.

PS I like this actor. I have seen him in Patal Lok as well. He's one to watch for in the future!

Vivek Singh is admitted to an IIT coaching center. It is his father's ambition to see him score an IIT seat and has been sacrificing a lot to ensure Vivek gets all the aid he needs to pass the IIT entrance exam. Vivek's mother has cholesterol due to her love for sweets but more than that, she is a loving mother who cares for both her husband and son. The film depicts Vivek's homesickness and his cluelessness about what he wants in life actually. He gets to be friends with Sarika who is a topper herself, Chandan who pretends to not care about IIT and the gullible Rinku. How does the experiences Vivek gets being with his friends and his realization of his parents' sacrifices, prepare him for life ahead, forms rest of the story.

I have to admit there has been an overdose of this sort of stories and Varun Grover in his directorial debut tries to be his earnest best in narrating this tale. Setting the story in 1997, the 90s nostalgia is tapped into while keeping Vivek's innocence intact. Parallelly his parents story is narrated where the authoritarian father makes all the decision yet the relationship between father-mother is beautifully depicted with the inclusion of crisis, be it financial one or a creepy stalker's harassment. Circling it all back to the Euler's identity equation is commendable. It is still an earnest attempt and the actors too have given their best. I could've enjoyed it better if it had come few years earlier or even right after the TVF series.

The way this film started, with the old nostalgic popping music, background score riddled with Doordarshan serials was a good touch, but unfortunately that's all that was.

It doesn't have the quirk of Kota Factory, or the heart of 12th Fail. The main problem are the characters- they are not well fleshed out, and their motivations are not clear. It seems like a sad payoff when all it took for the father to stop mentally imposing on his son, was that he realised IIT kids can also turn out to be rotten apples. Didn't he know this before? The payoff at the end is really muddy and leaves a vacant feeling once the film gets over. Very average, forgettable affair.

Rating- 5/10 ⭐