The renowned Hindi online series Hostel Daze has been recreated as Hostel Days in Telugu. The Aditya Mandala-directed programme is available to watch right now on Prime Video.
Story: Six engineering students and the diverse experiences they have while living in a dorm are the subject of the film Hostel Days. Three roommates share a space: Sai (Darahas Maturu), Chitharanjan Bhattacharya (Mouli), and Naveen Yadav (Akshay Lagusani). Theppa finally succeeds in his four-year battle to gain entrance. There are two other characters in this novel named Kavya (Aishwarya Hollakal) and Rithika (Jaiyetri Makana), who have quite different personalities. The main plot of the narrative revolves around what these six people experienced while living in a hostel.
Performance: Darahas Maturu, who plays Sai, exudes purity and likeability, while Mouli Tanuj Prasanth, who plays the ‘friendly’, sage nerd, is a perfect fit for the role. The programme benefits from Akshay Lagusani’s unfettered on-screen persona and dialogue delivery. Aishwarya Hollakal is more than just a gorgeous face; she accurately portrays the worries of her character.
Jaiyetri Makana excels in a similarly well-written role as a young woman going through a period of self-discovery. Anannyaa Akulaa guarantees plenty of chuckles with his thug-like demeanour and deadpan comedy. Raghu Kumar Karumanchi, Rajeev Kanakala, Jhansi, Thagubothu Ramesh, and Harsha Chemudu are well-used familiar personalities to provide the proceedings a wider perspective.
Technicalities: The music of Sidhartha Sadasivuni is good, and the programme also features a song that connects with viewers. The cinematography was done skillfully by Fahad Abdul Majeed. The quality of the production is adequate. Starting with the third episode, the editing is good.
Aditya Mandala has done a respectable job directing. A female lead who strives to live her life how she wants to be given some screen time, and an effort is made to show her inner self. This element merits attention. Although the first two episodes had good casting, they could have been much better. While not entirely funny, some of it is amusing.
Analysis: The show will be relevant to someone who is pursuing their education while living in a dorm at a college. Others might find it to be a tolerable show because it occasionally has good moments. Despite its shortcomings, the endeavour to capture hostel life is commendable. Jhansi and Rajeev Kanakala make interesting cameos.
The way Sai’s character has been created is the best aspect of the show. This particular character, played by Darahas Maturu, can be related to by many people. The most valuable aspect of the series is the actor’s genuine and organic performance. Sai’s love story takes centre stage as the series progresses and starts to get interesting. These scenes include some endearing moments.
The last episode, in which the students attempt to pass their M1 exam by studying the day before the test, is humorous. Mouli Tanuj Prasanth, known for his amusing films on social media, dazzles with a polished performance. In their various parts, Akshay Lagusani, Anannyaa Akulaa, Aishwarya Hollakal, and Jaiyetri Makana all do well.
Verdict: Overall, Hostel Days has its fair share of enjoyable moments. Although all of the actors gave strong performances, the show only really takes off in the middle. Many comedic sequences are successful, while some are not. So Hostel Days turns out to be a good series to watch this weekend.
Rating : 3/5
