One of the most uplifting and well-made series this year: TVF’s Aspirants

• Platform: YouTube
• Release Date: 07/04/2021
• Cast:  Naveen Kasturia, Shivankit Singh Parihar, Abhilash Thapliyal, Sunny Hinduja, Namita Dubey
• Creators: Arunabh Kumar, Shreyansh Pandey

“Sandeep Bhaiya Ka IAS nikla ki nai”

At the onset, I would like to address the issue that bugged me the most about the series. The “Unacademy” promotions. Yes, Unacademy is producing the show and hence they have every right to feature themselves prominently in the scheme of things but the men and women at The Viral Fever (TVF) could have thought out subtler ways of putting forward the advertisements than just rubbing it on the faces of the unsuspecting viewers like a birthday cake at 12:00 am in the morning. Even the actors, who otherwise are flawless, feel out of place doing product ads in the midst of a moment of organic and level headed performance. I felt a similar predicament was better handled in the TVF series Kota Factory.

Three friends, Abhilash (Naveen Kasturia), SK (Abhilash Thapliyal) and Guri (Shivankit Singh Parihar) are preparing for the UPSC exams in a place known as the Mecca of UPSC, Old Rajinder Nagar. For Abhilash, it’s a do or die situation as it is his final attempt at the exam. He is on sabbatical from his company and is frequently nudged by his bosses at the company to come back and join his duty immediately. SK has no backup plan and is under extreme duress from his family to crack the exam. Guri is the only one who is cool about the exam and believes that the exams are important but not as important as life and happiness itself. The three friends have been together since school and college and referred to as tripod by the ones who know them well.