Lionsgate Play is amongst the newest OTT platforms out there and its newest series, ‘Jugaadistan’ was introduced with an online trailer and it is a new concept. The show is about college life, taken from various aspects of different students and kinds of courses. We have a student politician who can bend rules, a media student who is hungry and desperate for a good story on-campus, a professor who wants to expose the conspiracies going on in college and much more. The cast of this show is versatile with known actors of OTT platforms including Sumeet Vyas, Arjun Mathur, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ahsaas Channa, among others.
The trailer begins with a famous quote by Gandhiji, “Paap se nafrat karo, paapi se nahi”, taken in a different meaning altogether by the students. The college is introduced with a college bell and a proposal for a trip to Manali to a professor, which he denies, asking for a bribe instead. And, something I found very interesting and hilarious was the fact that the bribe was given to him via PayTM. The student politician, Bhati (Sumeet Vyas) makes his first appearance and it is not a great one. He is seen hitting students in the middle of the street and is cheered on by the students with garlands. Bhati goes to introduce himself to a class where he expresses his desire to support the students and he is asked a good question.
“But what do you propose in your manifesto?”, asks Ayesha Rehman (Ahsaas Channa), a journalism student in search of a story. She seems pretty desperate, taking snaps from her phone and being involved in heavy research. Kenny Laishram (Lukram Smil), another student, is looking for a ‘strategic approach to handle this racism issue’ as he is bullied by the students on and off-field. Lucky (Taaruk Raina) is like Mike Ross from ‘Suits’ who helps students by writing their papers as he is a firm believer that life isn’t about ‘surviving,’ but ‘thriving’.
Parambrata Chattopadhyay plays the role of a professor who wants to expose all the examination scams that have been going on in the campus under his supervision, which involves both students and agents. Priyanka Tomar, a reporter is declared dead by Arjun Mathur’s character, while she was on her way to the college to expose the examination scam. This campus is also involved in selling rooms on hourly basis for “studying purposes”, with a 50% advance and all the resources provided.
The world in this series runs on ‘Jugaad’ and everyone uses it to live life. There are a lot of things going on in the college including friendships, fights, relationships, and more, while the media and professors are adamant on unveiling the truth. The team of examination scammers are preparing for the next set of exams with Ruhi as the leader. The series has used many quotes by famous people in completely contrasting meanings, like that of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Elon Musk.
The trailer ends with an honest dialogue, “Sapne, mauke, ambition, opportunity, har cheez ka vyapar hota hai yaha pe”.
‘Jugaadistan’ comes with a very refreshing concept, away from college romance and break-ups as the main theme. This is a story about struggles and how students are capable enough to find a way around it, also known as ‘jugaad’. With so many students, aiming at different things in life, it becomes very difficult for the professors to keep a check on everyone and everything around them. Media, of course, plays an important role in everything and the show makes an effort to highlight that.
The cast of the show perfectly suits their characters they are playing. Akarsh Khurana and Adhaar Khurana directorial, ‘Jugaadistan’ releases on 4th March.
You can catch the trailer here –
