After India won the T20 World Cup, there has been a deluge of posts on social media. People are appreciating Hardik Pandya’s winning performance. But do you remember Hardik Pandya who went viral on social media a few days ago? You might be thinking Hardik Pandya who gets trolled after his performance in IPL. But no, we are not talking about this hearty Pandya. So you may be wondering if this is not him but which Hardik?
We are talking about Hardik Pandya who started his vlog as “Welcome to People of Barbados and Baroda”. Yes, the young man seen in the satirical vlog on Hardik Pandya on the YouTube channel The Viral Fever i.e. TVF is considered by many to be the real Hardik. So the name of that actor is Pratish Mehta. What if Pratish and Jeetu Bhaiyya of ‘The Kota Factory’ come together?
On this you will say, where is Pratish who seems more real than Hardik Pandya and acts like the real Hardik in front of us who makes us laugh constantly in his videos and where is Jitu Bhaiyya of Kota Factory who prepares students for IITs in the highly competitive environment of Kota and teaches the philosophy of life to the children. How is it possible for these two to come together, that too in ‘Kota Factory’? But this possibility has come true.
Recently, the third season of the popular web series ‘The Kota Factory’ came to the audience. The series aired on YouTube channel TVF in 2019 and later on Netflix. Kota city in Rajasthan is visited by many students every year to prepare for entrance exams in prestigious Indian engineering colleges like IITs (Indian Institute of Technology). The series tells the story of students’ struggles, pressures and experiences in the competitive environment of Kota’s coaching institutes. It revolves around a 16-year-old boy named Vaibhav Pandey, who goes to Kota to prepare for the IIT entrance exam. Due to the uninspiring atmosphere, lots of competition, Vaibhav’s friends, their fun and love, the characters Meena, Meenal, Vaibhav, Vartika, Uday, Shivangi became very popular. Jitu Bhaiyya, a ray of hope for the students in the negative environment of Kota, who teaches differently against the current, runs into every hurdle of the students, also became hugely popular. This character is played by Jitendra Kumar.
Pratish Mehta has given instructions to all the actors in ‘Kota Factory 3’ along with Jeetendra Kumar for various scenes. Both season one and two of Kota Factory won the hearts of the audience with its extremely popular characters, realistic story and portrayal. Web series director Raghav Subbu had a lion’s share in conveying all these things to the audience. But actor Pratish, who became viral on social media as Hardik Pandya, took the responsibility of directing the new season.
How Pratish got the responsibility of Kota factory
Pratish has worked in many TVF projects before. He has told the story of getting a job in Kota Factory 3 in an interview given to ‘OTT Play’. “One day Raghav called me and said, ‘Do you want to direct season 3?’ Maybe in one or two shows I did with him, Raghav thought I could do it. Raghav has always been senior in TVF. So, when I directed ‘Half CA’ and ‘SK Sir Ki Klaas’, Raghav would watch the show and tell me whether he liked it or not. This gave me a little insight into the whole process. I have always been a Kota Factory fan. I was in a small role in the first two seasons. I worked behind the scenes in Season 1. So in season 2 I did a small cameo. Then in Season 3, Raghav Subbu gave me the responsibility of directing,” said Pratish.
Less time and pressure
Pratish said that although he has experience from working in the previous two seasons of Kota Factory, it was a big challenge whether he would be able to carry forward the third season of such a popular series as strongly as the first two seasons. “I look at anything difficult as an opportunity. There is pressure, but I always enjoy it. Because I wanted to know, to learn how this whole process is. I try to give 100 percent to whatever I have to do. Kota Factory taught me a lot. Sometimes you study two years in eight months. Even before Kota Factory season 3 came out I had very little time for it. My preparation time was very short. But I learned a lot in these eight months,” noted Pratish.
The series gained immense popularity for its authentic portrayal of student life in Kota. It has been liked by many viewers who have gone through a similar experience. The third season of this web series has been released on Netflix a few days ago.
