All India Rank

<p>Vivek is 17, and as every middle-class family in India would attest, it was high time he was enrolled in coaching classes for the notoriously competitive entrance exams of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Vivek’s father, who sees an IIT degree as a moral certificate, ships his only son off to a residential preparatory school in Kota, the Mecca for IIT coaching. Over two years, Vivek goes through the motions of Indian adolescence, but it is his parents who do the growing up. As time passes, Vivek’s father learns that there are those with low morale who are studying in IITs, leading him to cryptically tell Vivek that IIT is not the end-goal in life on the night before his IIT entrance exam. Director announced the film on 13 April 2022, revealing that it is produced by Sanjay Routray and Sarita Patil. Cinematography is done by Archana Ghangrekar, and editing is done by . had its world premiere on 5 February 2023 at the 52nd , as the closing film. It was released theatrically on 23 February 2024 in India. The music of the film was composed by Mayukh-Mainak while lyrics are written by . On the website , 62% of 13 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. of scored the film at 3 out of 5 stars and said, “Varun Grover’s debut feature is a deftly-drawn, affectionate portrait of a young man who is being blown along by the force of his father’s dreams.” of gave film 4 stars out of 5 and wrote, ” abounds in wonderfully striking touches that elevate it above the sum of its parts and turn it into a perceptive, holistic testament to a time of flux. Watch it because it takes you where Hindi films rarely do – a zone where ideas, feelings and barely stated dilemmas take precedence over the exigencies of plot and exposition.” of gave 3 stars out of 5 and reviewed the film, describing it as “a sweet, sincere, personal film”. Sana Farzeen of gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and wrote, ” , passes most of the criteria needed in a good film and yet, it falls short on entertainment value”. Shilajit Mitra of reviewed film and wrote, “This coming-of-age drama about the IIT-ian dream is humorous and observant, yet hardly stands out in a sea of similar-minded content.” Nandini Ramnath of in her review, wrote, “The film’s low-energy hero and fatalistic mood – the promise of the 1990s notwithstanding – are difficult to sustain over the 101-minute runtime. Grover’s screenplay has a collection of finely written episodes that compensate for Vivek’s feeble, familiar coming-of-age experience.” The film collected (US$18,000) – (US$24,000) on its opening day.</p>