'Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya' was recently released on Prime Video, so if you are looking to watch something this weekend, here's what you need to know about the Kay Kay Menon-starrer.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleAdarsh Baal Vidyalaya has been released on Prime Video and follows the tale of a school located in a Delhi suburb after taking "the left from the gutter". However, the school is failing to live up to its name, thanks to its unruly students, frustrated teachers, substandard results, poor facilities, and a principal so laidback he's almost recumbent. However, will things change when the education department offers an incentive?
ABV is anything but ideal. However, an education department official offers an incentive which might motivate the ABV team. Nonetheless, the condition is that if the headmaster 'Gyaneshwar' (Kay Kay Menon) can motivate his staff and students to transform ABV into one of the 10 schools in Delhi with the best 10th results, he will be sent to the United Kingdom for a training programme.
Keen on getting away from his long-suffering wife, 'Sushma', 'Gayaneshwar' is ready, but will he be able to transform the can-do teacher's brigade at ABV? Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya is a riotous, sharply subversive account of how 'Gayaneshwar' tries to achieve the impossible. Created by Biswapati Sarkar and Sameer Saxena, the series is packed with unhinged humour.
Writers Biswapati Sarkar, Akshay Asthana, Nupur Pai, Tatsat Pandey and Meghna Srivastava gel in wonderfully with the work of director Himank Gaur. It features some laugh-out-loud lines and impossible situations to keep both staffers and students busy. The comedy ranges from subtle satire over the quality of education in underfunded schools to slapstick comedy whenever the buffoonish 'Goldy' is around.
After what seems like a slow start, Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya kicks into high energy when major and minor characters are fully introduced. Apart from 'Gyaneshwar' and 'Sushma', Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya pays attention to the bond between 'Kanchan' and 'Hansraj'. The joke kicks in as 'Urmila' grumbles that their formidable Hindi is out of a "Rajkamal Prakashan textbook", because 'Hansraj' has named his daughters 'Sangya' (noun) and 'Kriya' (verb).
'Mukul' further points out that reforming the school is like "fuelling a car that doesn't have an engine", and has his own sub-plot revolving around his feisty daughter, a student at ABV. Meanwhile, the dynamics between 'Gyaneshwar' and 'Urmila' are like a game of Tom and Jerry. While the teachers themselves are at odds, the students are no less. While a student uses their differences to get favours, another wants to be expelled so he can pursue his dream of being a social media influencer.
Talking about the film's story, Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya is an uncanny comedy with extremely well-timed punches. Beyond its unintended topicality, thanks to the ongoing student-led protest, the series deftly uses comedy to reveal why education in "New India" is a rightfully royal mess. The show is savvy about its setting with poorly paid teachers, under-motivated students, a crucial exam that makes little sense to working-class parents but is nevertheless important for them, and the school's miserable lack of amenities.
There's an entire episode dedicated to the importance of kheer in a midday meal. Another features 'Goldy' demanding that his story be added to the history curriculum. He also targets students with poor marks, reasoning that if everyone studied well, he would run out of "minions". There's even a dig at compromised journalists, represented by 'Amit' (Biswapati Sarkar), a rabble-rouser with the TV channel Utpaat.
Apart from Kay Kay Menon's excellent jokes and timing, there are compelling performances by the other actors. Naveen Kasturia, Prasanna Bisht, Archana Puran Singh and Prachee Shah shine in their roles, whereas Abhimanyu Singh is the perfect pick as the ruler-wielding, wisdom-spouting 'Hansraj'.
Have you seen Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya? Let us know.
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