Name: Hostel Daze Season 3
Director: Abhinav Anand
Released: 2022-11-17T10:04:15

Prime Video’s ‘Hostel Daze’ revolves around a group of friends in an engineering college as they navigate hostel life, education, romance, and all the rest that comes with it. In season 3, the gang returns for their third year to face new challenges of student life.

Story

Hostel Daze season 3 kicks off with Jatin AKA Jhantoo expressing his disappointment in his friends. This year, he had hoped to turn hostel no. 3 into an even more chaotic place, but Ankit, Jaat and Chirag have other priorities.

Ankit, the hostel DOPA, is deeply immersed into his relationship with Akanksha, Jaat starts taking his classes seriously, and Chirag is busy working on a new app.

Eventually, Ankit and Akanksha face turbulence in their relationship and Jhantoo decides to compete for the post of G.S.H.A. (General Secretary of Hostel Affairs).

With their seniors about to graduate, the gang learns many new life lessons on their way to becoming the eldest batch in college.

Performances

Nikhil Vijay (Jhantoo), Ahsaas Channa (Akanksha), Shubham Gaur (Jaat), Luv Vispute (Chirag), Ayushi Gupta (Nabomita), and Utsav Sarkar (Ankit) lead the show with impeccable ease.

Sarkar replaces Adarsh Gourav as Ankit this season and does well to fill his shoes. Vijay is flawless as Jhantoo like the first two seasons and gives a layered performance.

Vispute and Gaur too have a lot more to do this season — as the story focuses on all the characters equally — and rise up to the occasion.

Channa and Gupta are a more relevant part of the gang as well this time around. However, their characters are given very less material to work with. Despite that, they leave no stone unturned to show off their acting chops.

Comedians like Raju Srivastav, Karunesh Talwar, Gaurav Kapoor, Sugandha Mishra, Vipul Goyal, and Kumar Varun act as narrators in an episode each.

This is a running theme since season 1 and carries on in season 3. They providing another layer of comedy and poignancy to the story. It is a heartfelt moment to see the late Raju Srivastav on screen one last time with his cheerful personality and effortless acting.

Positives

Hostel Daze season 3 builds upon a weak second season to improve in almost all aspects. The plot deviates from just Ankit’s story and gives equal attention to all its major characters.

The writing is great and most of the jokes land. The episode structure helps the show as it focuses on different issues and topics every time. There is no continuous narrative which makes Hostel Daze season 3 feel more like a college sitcom.

It also does well to highlight new hostel issues like money lending, rivalries, politics, thefts, body image issues and parental pressure. The narrative even creates a seamless balance between comedy and heavy dramatic moments, which the actors carry on their capable shoulders.

The story has evolved like its characters and shifts its focus on growth rather than fitting in. Hostel Daze season 3 takes more time to deeply explore student issues than just letting them pass by as jokes completely.

Negatives

The female characters in the show are underutilized. Channa is reduced to a mere romantic interest whereas Gupta just feels like the mandatory female friend in the group. The latter has a relevant subplot about body issues and male friendships, but that soon vanishes into thin air.

The show still sometimes forgets where to draw the line in terms of its jokes. It can feel quite obnoxious and crass at times, but the positives make up for it.

Verdict

Hostel Daze season 3 is a worthy entry into the series and uses an unfiltered lens to showcase college life. Its funny, heartfelt and will leave you wanting more episodes.