Shiksha Mandal is a well-intentioned thriller that deals with a sensitive issue but fails to make an impact as the execution is not up to the mark. The series revolves around Aditya Rai (Gulshan Devaiah), who runs a training/coaching institute for medical aspirants. He shares a strong bond with his students and strives to highlight that education is not a business. Aditya's world is turned upside down when his sister 'disappears' shortly before he learns a dark secret about her. This leads to a series of events that expose a sinister scam.
Shiksha Mandal begins with a scene in which a young student gears up to write an examination. The staging of this sequence is quite good. It hits the right notes with its organic intensity. The focus soon shifts to Gulshan Devaiah's character. This, unfortunately, is where the problems begin. The writers try to project Aditya as a layered individual who has a lot going on in his life. They, sadly, fail to explore these aspects properly. Take his bond with his 'maa', for instance. This subplot had the potential to be Shiksha Mandal's emotional fulcrum but it ends up, making a limited impact. Things would have been different had the makers added a few more scenes between these characters.
Most of the other characters too haven't been fleshed out properly. There are twists here and there, but most of them fail to pack a punch as they are predictable to the extent of being obvious. To make matters worse, the silences don't really speak in most of the scenes, which further waters down their impact.
That said, Shiksha Mandal is not a wasted effort by any stretch of the imagination. Gulshan Devaiah tries to salvage the show by giving it his all. The actor does a decent job of bringing out his character's vulnerabilities, especially in the emotional scenes. Shiksha Mandal could have been a real game-changer for him had the script done justice to his abilities.
Gauahar Khan is sincere in a character that had tremendous potential, She gets the body language right and tries to rise above the mediocre writing. Pavan Malhotra, unsurprisingly, proves to be the show-stealer. The actor, who received praise for his work in Tabbar and Grahan, delivers a great performance to cover up the shallow screenplay. His silence and menacing eyes do all the talking. Pavan Malhotra is particularly good in a scene in which he bashes up an unsuspecting victim.
The supporting cast serves its purpose. The editing could have been tighter as some of the scenes dragged. The background score doesn't elevate the reel action's impact. The other technical aspects are up to the mark.
Shiksha Mandal is a lost opportunity given the potential it displayed.
Shiksha Mandal begins with a scene in which a young student gears up to write an examination. The staging of this sequence is quite good. It hits the right notes with its organic intensity. The focus soon shifts to Gulshan Devaiah's character. This, unfortunately, is where the problems begin. The writers try to project Aditya as a layered individual who has a lot going on in his life. They, sadly, fail to explore these aspects properly. Take his bond with his 'maa', for instance. This subplot had the potential to be Shiksha Mandal's emotional fulcrum but it ends up, making a limited impact. Things would have been different had the makers added a few more scenes between these characters.
Most of the other characters too haven't been fleshed out properly. There are twists here and there, but most of them fail to pack a punch as they are predictable to the extent of being obvious. To make matters worse, the silences don't really speak in most of the scenes, which further waters down their impact.
That said, Shiksha Mandal is not a wasted effort by any stretch of the imagination. Gulshan Devaiah tries to salvage the show by giving it his all. The actor does a decent job of bringing out his character's vulnerabilities, especially in the emotional scenes. Shiksha Mandal could have been a real game-changer for him had the script done justice to his abilities.
Gauahar Khan is sincere in a character that had tremendous potential, She gets the body language right and tries to rise above the mediocre writing. Pavan Malhotra, unsurprisingly, proves to be the show-stealer. The actor, who received praise for his work in Tabbar and Grahan, delivers a great performance to cover up the shallow screenplay. His silence and menacing eyes do all the talking. Pavan Malhotra is particularly good in a scene in which he bashes up an unsuspecting victim.
The supporting cast serves its purpose. The editing could have been tighter as some of the scenes dragged. The background score doesn't elevate the reel action's impact. The other technical aspects are up to the mark.
Shiksha Mandal is a lost opportunity given the potential it displayed.
