EXCLUSIVE | Jitendra Kumar on similarities between 'Panchayat' and Netflix's 'Kota Factory': 'I hope you get to see…'

The iconic show Kota Factory has entered its season three and will stream on Netflix from June 20. It stars Jitendra Kumar, Mayur More, Ranjan Raj, Alam Khan, Ahsaas Channa, Revathi Pillai and Urvi Singh. The new season sees the entry of Tillotama Shome.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Jitendra, Rajesh Kumar, and Tillotama spoke about the world of the show, the education system in current times, and the black-and-white palette of the series.

Edited excerpts from the interview

Tillotama, you’re the newest entrant in the world of Kota Factory so what were your expectations when you stepped into this world and what can we expect.

My expectations were just to understand what I can add to a universe that’s already thriving. When I heard the existence of my character and its purpose is to support Jeetu Bhaiyaa, I was at ease. If they had added an antagonist arc to my role, I would have lived with the idea that the nation was going to hate me for a while. In terms of what to expect, you have to see the show. What I also like is that a loved show like this is introducing a female teacher, and I have great expectations from a show that has done something important for me. We as adults worry so much about the future that we don’t think that the future is represented by the young adults in our lives. If we protect the spirit of the young people, we can have a safer future, and Kota Factory has done that when it wasn’t popular or trending.

Jitendra, you’ve been an IIT graduate yourself. The role of Jeetu Bhaiyaa may not have been easy to play but at least relatable for you.

Yes, I’m an IITian and have also taught. The character of Jeetu Bhaiyaa is completely different and I have not seen teachers like him in real life. This was the creation of the writers of the first season and they may have seen people like him. The teachers I experienced used to enter the classroom like a star and teach around 250 students together, there was no connection that was built between us and them. Here, my character is a step ahead of the students and understands their perspective. We have tackled topics like masturbation in season two so this is a totally different quality of a teacher that we have explored on the show.

Rajesh, how much can you relate to the character of Gagan Rastogi?

No similarities at all, but I’m good at Maths. It was fun since I got to do something different and got to learn a lot from Jitendra and Tillotama. You have to be really alert as an actor to be able to bring the same kind of energy they bring on the sets. The character of Vaibhav is played by a solid actor.

The series is shot in black and white; is it actually so colorless and compromising for students, especially in engineering?

Jitendra: I doubt we have reached till that level in education, the pressure has only increased. But we have also started discussing mental health and its importance. Students in the age group of 13-14 are curating and collecting a lot of information through digital medium. Our education system has to evolve and be in sync with today’s era. We don’t think about our future till the 10th standard but it all began when I became a teacher. There are some students who are focused and absolute geniuses so it could be fine for them but there’s a whole lot of variety out there so the fact that only physics, chemistry, and maths are going to take you ahead in life is not true.

Tillotama: Not just the pressure, even cut-offs have increased year by year. It always felt high when even I was applying for colleges. What are we alive for if there’s not discovery? The rate at which we are expecting students to perform is not realistic. Education is just the beginning, it’s like building a foundation for their learning, but not the whole building. This is not the be all and the end all. Where is the creativity and their application for learning? We need to explore open book exams where the pressure is not on memorising but on understanding and learning.

Jeetendra, do you see any similarities between the world of Panchayat and Kota Factory?

Not at all (laughs). They both are completely different and their situations are polls apart too. He’s facing a lot more difficult situations and cribbing a lot. This teacher of Kota Factory is more inspiring and wants to prove something in life. I don’t think there are similarities but I hope you get to see some of term in Kota Factory and Panchayat’s new seasons.