What Is the Story About?
Prime Video’s ‘Hostel Daze‘ Season 3 picks up the threads of the story from where Season 2 ended. The narrative is set in the backdrop of a hostel of an engineering college, a la Nitish Tiwari and Sushant Singh Rajput’s ‘Chhichhore’.
‘Hostel Daze’ tells the story from the point of view of a bunch of engineering students cum friends residing in the hostel — their trials and tribulations, as they maneuver love, friendship, exams, and more, in the midst of hostel life.
Hostel Daze is produced by The Viral Fever, and directed by Abhinav Anand.
Performances?
All three original actors of the franchise — Nikhil Vijay as Jhantoo, Shubham Gaur as Jat, and Luv Vispute as Chirag Bansal — are excellent in the new outing of the series. Though all three actors get ample opportunity to shine, which they do, it is Luv Vispute who steals the show this season.
Adarsh Gourav is missing from the new season. Utsav Sarkar takes over his role of Ankit, aka Dopa. He does a good enough job so that viewers don’t miss Adarsh Gourav at all. Ahsaas Channa and Ayushi Gupta are average in their respective roles.
The cameos in Hostel Daze Season 3 are delightful to watch. Sugandha Mishra, Vipul Goel, Kumar Varun, and the late Raju Shrivastava in his final outing, all add an element of fun to the proceedings.
Analysis
After the disaster that was Hostel Daze Season 2, the series is back on track somewhat with its humour and coming-of-age tropes. Hostel Daze Season 3 is a whole lot better than Season 2, though not as engaging as the other TVF shows on student life, such as Kota Factory or Aspirants.
The first episode of the new season is downright boring, to put it bluntly. The punch lines fall flat and the humour seems contrived. Even the conflict in the episode fails to make an impact on the viewer. Thankfully, the series perks up from the second episode onwards. The story moves ahead at a fast clip, keeping boredom somewhat at bay. There’s even an improvement in the humour — supposedly the USP of the show — from the second episode onwards. The series manages to keep viewers entertained at large, over its six 30-minute-long episodes, though the humour and entertainment value are largely missing.
Several instances in the series are quite funny, though not the laugh-out-loud kind. But they do put a smile on your face, credit for which goes to the performances of the four leads of Hostel Daze Season 3. That said, there are also quite a few times in the narrative when you stifle a yawn and/or are bored out of your wits. The romantic track between Ankit and Akanksha is one such boring subplot. It has zero spark or spice, and only serves to bog down the story.
To sum it up, Hostel Daze Season 3 comes across as the country bumpkin cousin of the super-fun ‘Chhichhore’. Watch it only if you’re a die-hard fan of The Viral Fever shows, else give it a miss.
Music And Other Departments?
The background score by Prashanth Srinivas is apt for the narrative, though it is a bit over the top at times. Chetan Shinde’s camerawork is fine, and lends the right ambience to the proceedings.
Highlights?
Luv Vispute and Nikhil Vijay’s performances
Drawbacks?
Not Funny Enough
Lacks Depth
A Bit Boring in Places
Did I Enjoy It?
I Found it Strictly Okay
Will You Recommend It?
Only for die-hard The Viral Fever followers
Hostel Daze Season 3 Review by Binged Bureau