Kota Factory season 3: A mature take on the Indian IIT dream  

Directed by Pratish Mehta and starring Jitendra Kumar, Mayur More, and Tillotama Shome, “Kota Factory” Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix. This season offers a more mature and nuanced look at the journey of students in Kota, India, as they strive to crack the IIT entrance exam. 

In Kota, teenagers are sold a dream; attend coaching classes, ace the IIT entrance exam, secure a high-paying job, and your life will be set. This simple formula is endorsed by every adult around them, leading the kids to volunteer for this rigorous and demanding path. However, they soon realize that this three-step plan is far from a guaranteed success story. 

This season of “Kota Factory” stands out because it not only shows the growth of Vaibhav, Meena, and Uday but also delves deeper into the character of Jeetu ‘bhaiya’ (Jitendra Kumar). Jeetu has always been the beacon of optimism, often bordering on toxic positivity. This time, however, he shows signs of exhaustion from the relentless optimism he has been projecting. We see him seeking help and reflecting on his life, exploring what makes us who we are rather than what we do.  

Jeetu’s journey is particularly poignant. He, too, once bought into the IIT dream. He attended IIT, earned a lot of money, and pursued a career he thought he loved. But when he witnessed someone losing their life over the same dream, he found himself struggling, despite having followed the “right” path. The framed engineering degree in his house started to feel like a reminder of a decaying dream in a city that was suffocating him. He did everything by the book, yet when he needed support, he found that the system that created him lacked an exit plan for those struggling within it.  

The societal definition of success is often limited to one’s job and income. However, as we grow older, it becomes clear that peace of mind and personal fulfillment have little to do with the college we attended or the ranks we achieved in our teens. Jeetu’s story is a testament to this realization. Despite achieving everything he was promised, he found that becoming just another product of the system was not as fulfilling as it was made out to be.  

“Kota Factory” Season 3 offers a mature exploration of the pressures and realities of the IIT dream, highlighting the importance of introspection and personal growth over societal expectations.