Admissions Open

Film: Admissions Open
Cast: Anupam Kher, Aditya Vidyarthi, Ankur Khanna, Arshi
Genre: Drama
Direction: K.D. Satyam
Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes
Critic's Rating:1.5 stars


Story: Ankur Khanna and his friends have just passed out from school and fail to find admission in any of the prestigious colleges in Pune due to their low percentages. Do they give up? No, they turn their backs to the traditional education system which stifles creativity and individuality and try to set up their own alternate college.

Movie Review: Now this film did have a noble idea. But alas! Why had it to be so ignobly done. While the first half does manage to raise a few pertinent questions on higher education and parental pressure, the second half goes completely cuckoo with a bunch of crazy characters aimlessly going around under the ruse of running a college of the youth, by the youth, for the youth. Ekdum weird!

It's the usual I-wannabe-a-rock-star, but dad doesn't understand syndrome which forces Ankur Khanna to seek refuge with Anupam Kher and accept him as his guru. Having read educationist Kher's articles on the Bill Gates' brand of education which enables you to reach heights, despite being high school drop-outs, Ankur convinces Kher to start his defunct college called SPIRIT: South Pune Institute of Research and Information Technology. But before he can open the gates to new learning, Kher is summarily done away with (dunno why) and it's left to Ankur and his band of crazy friends to run the institute which offers classes in the art of cooking, music, seduction, bhaigiri, politics and what-you-will. Of course, there are no teachers, no exams, no order, only chaos, as the students supposedly go around tutoring themselves. Mentor Ashish Vidyarthi is there, but all he gets to do is wear gaudy shirts and guzzle liquor: he's the disgruntled friend, philosopher and guide.

End result? Total and terrible confusion.