When it comes to making a good web series, there are a few simple rules. Keep it engaging, keep it sharp, and for heaven’s sake, don’t drag it out. Sadly, Hai Junoon on JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar broke all the rules. And not in a cool, creative way, just the painful kind.
Let’s start with the biggest mistake. A whopping twenty episodes. Yes, twenty. Each one almost forty minutes long. That’s way too much for a college drama that doesn’t have much meat to begin with. Who has the time or patience to sit through that many episodes when nothing really new is happening?
Then there’s the tone. Instead of giving us a fun, modern youth story, the makers served up something that felt like an old-school TV soap. The kind that’s over the top, full of forced drama, and tries way too hard to be emotional or intense, but ends up being just plain cringe.
And what’s a college-based drama without a banging music album? That’s one more place Hai Junoon completely missed the mark. Even with big names like Shankar Mahadevan and Sonu Nigam involved, the songs didn’t leave any mark. Not one track sticks with you once the episode ends.
Interestingly, we saw something similar recently with Showtime. Another high-profile show that had all the big names, glossy sets, and hype, but fell flat because the storytelling just didn’t land. It tried too hard to be smart and ended up being shallow.
At the end of the day, Hai Junoon is a textbook example of how not to make a web series. No buzz before release, too many episodes, no character depth, no spark in the story, and not a single song to hum later. If there’s one thing this series teaches us, it’s that longer doesn’t mean better, and more drama doesn’t mean good drama.
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