Hostel Days, the latest series from Bengali streaming platform Hoichoi, takes a fond and sometimes wistful trip down memory lane as it rekindles the nostalgia of college life with fun, frolics, heartbreaks and a grand celebration of friendship.
Directed by Satyaki Kundu and Souvik Mondal, the show features Anindya Sengupta, Arpan Ghoshal, Rohaan Bhattacharjee, Roshni Bhattacharyya, Pushan Dasgupta, Rahul Barui, Kanchan Mullick and Subha Chattopadhyay in key roles.
Spread over six episodes, the story follows college students Parikkhit, Orko and Kapil along with other characters with outlandish nicknames like Bhakto, Gupho and Gambat who make the hostel life full of fun.
A celebration of friendship
Orko, one of India’s top food vlogger OG (Anindya Sengupta), is all set to open his own chain of restaurants. Old wounds reopen during a promotional shoot at an eatery and Orko reunites with Kapil (Rohaan Bhattacharjee). Together, they embark on a journey to find their long-lost friend, Pari aka Parikkhit (Arpan Ghoshal).
Pari was the resident cook in the hostel and would come up with innovative dishes to satiate the craving of his fellow mates. Khichudi was his specialty. When Pari’s financial condition takes a toll on his future, his friends come together to help him set up a makeshift restaurant on a matador. The venture gains overnight popularity, but one misdeed by Orko ruins the friendship.
Brings back college memories
The three musketeers and their hostel mates are always up to some mischief. Nightlong booze parties, awful mess food, jamming sessions in classrooms, photos of actresses in skimpy outfits stuck on the walls, and the vacation at Mandarmani bring back sweet memories of uninhibited fun with college friends.
Hostel Days packs in elements from other films and shows based on college life, most notably 3 Idiots, but is not an abject copy-paste. The story is set in an engineering college in north Bengal. The boarders have their own idiosyncrasies — Bhakto speaks Bengali with an accent that resembles Italian and French. Gupho is a Bangal with a Bhanu Bandyopadhyay hangover.
Fresh performances, smart production
Hostel Days boasts of power-packed performances by new actors, who strike a chord with the viewers. Anindya Sengupta, who had his first big screen outing in Srijit Mukherji’s X=Prem earlier this year, is comfortable in the skin of a successful food blogger as well as an easy-going college dude. Popular tele-star Rohaan Bhattacharjee, who makes his OTT debut with this show, has a happy-go-lucky charm. Arpan Ghoshal slays it as a talented chef leading a life of anonymity. Pushan Dasgupta and Subha Chattopadhyay are also impressive among the others.
Written by Sam and Rana, the smart dialogues and screenplay elevate this coming-of-age drama. They have also written and composed the songs that kindle the memories of college life beautifully. Crisp editing by Saugata Mukherjee holds the viewer’s attention till the end. Indranil Mukherjee captures the nuances of college life through his lenses with finesse. The outdoor shots in Mandarmani and north Bengal in the final episodes are jaw-dropping.
