OTT has been slowly and steadily serving the same food with different dressings and presentations. But does that really make it taste different, right? Over the years, several lighthearted shows have been released that follow the chaos of daily life, life lessons, struggles, and much more, all served with a generous dose of sweetness.&nbsp;The latest sweet addition to that menu is Kay Kay Menon’s Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya. What’s ironic is the timing of its release. The 7-part series drops at a time when the entire country is rocked by student protests over the NEET paper leak. Set in a part of New Delhi, the series feels like a mix of several OTT shows we have seen before. And yet, in parts, it’s different.&nbsp;It touches upon several problems in society, and argues that the only real solution is education. While watching, there are several moments and scenes where both children and teachers are finding solutions to everyday problems. As the two or even three generations continue to find solutions to the same problem, but it's threads, not connected, but runs parallel to what we are seeing happening right now, in the same city, where the show is set.<h3>&nbsp;</h3>

Still of Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya

<h3>What is the story of Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya?</h3>The seven-episode series is set in Delhi's Tinki Toli area and revolves around the government school, Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya. Every decision, even the one regarding studies, is based on the budget that they have to spend. The head of this series is Gyanseshwar Tripathi (Kay Kay Menon), the principal and the history teacher of ABV. In the list of do's to be done for the student, the last thing that comes is the student, and then the education. While with no resources and money, they have to take, or basically snatch from the PA (Archana Puran Singh) of a local politician. With his laid-back approach, he's running the school. But he gets active when he learns about the government-sponsored training programme in Cambridge. But there's a catch to achieve this. So for this, he gets on a mission to get the 10th class batch to get the best marks in the session. While making the students study is a hard job, and to achieve all this, he had to go through several hardships.<h2>In education, what's strange is how hard it all is</h2>Directed by Himank Gaur and written by Biswapati Sarkar, Akshay Asthana, Nupur Pai, Tatsat Pandey, and Meghna Srivastava, the best thing about this show is the length of each episode; each one lasts only half an hour. This is the show’s biggest asset. The short runtime works in its favour, helping cover up its faults and shortcomings.&nbsp;&nbsp;With Menon as the lead, the series has a light tone. It doesn’t have a lot to discuss, but it’s rather a humorous commentary on the problems that we ought to discuss.&nbsp;&nbsp;

While education and young children are the focus, the show also briefly explores the lives of the teachers. The characters feel familiar.They give you a déjà vu of several other characters we have seen before, but they’re still enjoyable.&nbsp;&nbsp;In the show, Prasanna Bisht plays the new teacher, Kanchan, who deals with students peacefully, a surprising and challenging path to take. Then there’s the strict teacher, Hansraj Meena (Abhimanyu Singh). But behind his tough image is a man who loves putting mehendi designs on hands. So every teacher is different, every student is different. And when all these ingredients come together, the dish we get is enjoyable and delicious. But with that, I’m also not saying that the show is all and all perfect. There isn’t much time, and it’s not explored enough to expect much commentary. Yes, it comically tackles several serious issues, whether it’s how education is handled, how non-progressive parents address education, how government teachers function, and how everything is run under the orders of MLA Goldy (Deven Bhojani). &nbsp;But all it boils down to is one thing: education, and where it is concerned, the odd part is the struggle.

With the light tone, the series is short enough that it doesn't bore you out. And all this, with the pack of actors who have given a worthy performance, which is enough to entertain. While the show, as I said earlier, doen't offer anything new or surprising. Its commentary is something that you will laugh at, but it is the issue that has been addressed again and again, but remains unaddressed to a very extent. That said, a few scenes do feel a bit overdone and feel like that social cause. The short runtime helps here; even when something drags, it’s over quickly, and the show moves on.&nbsp;With a promising cast, this seven-episode show is light-hearted, humorous, and an easy watch, perfect for a weekend or any casual day when you have nothing to watch. Ironically, even if Jantar Mantar news has you overloaded, this show will have you talking about protests and the education system anyway.&nbsp;Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya is streaming on Prime Video.&nbsp;

Kay Kay Menon's show is all about the education system and raises serious questions on the topic, but with laughs. Directed by Himank Gaur, the series is light-hearted and funny, and will keep you thinking about why student protests are happening at Jantar Mantar.

OTT has been slowly and steadily serving the same food with different dressings and presentations. But does that really make it taste different, right? Over the years, several lighthearted shows have been released that follow the chaos of daily life, life lessons, struggles, and much more, all served with a generous dose of sweetness. The latest sweet addition to that menu is Kay Kay Menon’s Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya. What’s ironic is the timing of its release. The 7-part series drops at a time when the entire country is rocked by student protests over the NEET paper leak. Set in a part of New Delhi, the series feels like a mix of several OTT shows we have seen before. And yet, in parts, it’s different. It touches upon several problems in society, and argues that the only real solution is education. While watching, there are several moments and scenes where both children and teachers are finding solutions to everyday problems. As the two or even three generations continue to find solutions to the same problem, but it's threads, not connected, but runs parallel to what we are seeing happening right now, in the same city, where the show is set.

Kay Kay Menon's show is all about the education system and raises serious questions on the topic, but with laughs. Directed by Himank Gaur, the series is light-hearted and funny, and will keep you thinking about why student protests are happening at Jantar Mantar.

Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya review: Kay Menon teaches, trolls, and questions our education system

Clearly, director Hagai Levi wanted to spare no time in actually 're-imagining' this re-told, miniseries version of 1973-released Ingmar Bergman classic, 'Scenes From A Marriage'. After the warm-up of an introductory episode, Levi breaks free from Bergman chain of events as shown through his eyes, in his episode two of the series many decades ago.&nbsp;

 
Here, unlike its predecessor, Levi doesn't give us a crash course on who Mira and Jonathan were as individuals--all we know is that they are a couple only on paper.&nbsp;

 
An otherwise put together Mira confesses to Jonathan that she has been having an affair with a man for a while now, "I am in love with someone," she tells. Jonathan, blind-sided by this piece of information, doesn't know how to process this harsh truth of life. To him, his wife seeking solace in the arms of another man is not an indication of how far they have gone in their respective journeys as humans, but only a knowledge&nbsp;'he doesn't know what to do with.'&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-scenes-from-a-marriage-ep-1-review-jessica-chastain--oscar-isaac-infuse-modern-easy-into-this-old-saga-413109">Scenes From A Marriage EP 1 review: Jessica Chastain &amp; Oscar Isaac infuse 'modern easy' into this old saga</a>

Oscar Isaac's Jonathan is a repressed individual who, even when his wife he most certainly still loves, walks out the door, doesn't scream out in pain. Instead, chooses to purse his lips together and bite. Till it hurts. Mira's moment of truth may have been the highlight of this&nbsp;episode and the shock value Levi obviously wanted to inculcate, but she is a woman of stead habits, too. She knows with all her might that the relationship is hanging by a thread, yet, before exhibiting her first-ever act of bravery--of leaving the man she bore a kid with--Mira has to wrestle with her demons: "If I don’t leave now, I might never."

<img alt="Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain bring their A game to the series" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="e4fbbbc7-a45c-43b5-8c21-082ab212ba9d" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/pjimage%20-%202021-09-14T215147.205_0.jpg" /> 
The juxtaposing of these similar-yet-different characters may not score high on the barometer for originality (Marriage Story/ Netflix) but the cracks through which this couple falls, and continues to descend, makes this modernised version truly modern--both in tone and treatment.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-the-starling-review-grief-knows-not-what-grief-does-415907">The Starling review: Grief knows not what grief does</a>

 
Aptly titled 'The Art of Sweeping Things Under the Rug' (bold approach, told you!), the episode yet again starts with a real-life, behind-the-scenes setting with Isaac plugging in his earphones before we are ushered into the devastation that he is about to suffer. There are no other characters that are introduced apart from these two. But, who cares? Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain are so&nbsp;taut as Jonathan and Mira that the monotony of each scene does not squish the purity of the emotions felt. If anything, they act as elevators.&nbsp;

 
'Scenes From A Marriage' is now streaming on Disney + Hotstar.&nbsp;

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mRuVWHnQlV8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

Clearly, director Hagai Levi wanted to spare no time in actually 're-imagining' this re-told, miniseries version of 1973-released Ingmar Bergman classic, 'Scenes From A Marriage'.

Clearly, director Hagai Levi wanted to spare no time in actually 're-imagining' this re-told, miniseries version of 1973-released Ingmar Bergman classic, 'Scenes From A Marriage'. After the warm-up of an introductory episode, Levi breaks free from Bergman chain of events as shown through his eyes, in his episode two of the series many decades ago. Here, unlike its predecessor, Levi doesn't give us a crash course on who Mira and Jonathan were as individuals--all we know is that they are a couple only on paper. An otherwise put together Mira confesses to Jonathan that she has been having an affair with a man for a while now, "I am in love with someone," she tells. Jonathan, blind-sided by this piece of information, doesn't know how to process this harsh truth of life. To him, his wife seeking solace in the arms of another man is not an indication of how far they have gone in their respective journeys as humans, but only a knowledge 'he doesn't know what to do with.' Also read: Scenes From A Marriage EP 1 review: Jessica Chastain & Oscar Isaac infuse 'modern easy' into this old saga Oscar Isaac's Jonathan is a repressed individual who, even when his wife he most certainly still loves, walks out the door, doesn't scream out in pain. Instead, chooses to purse his lips together and bite. Till it hurts. Mira's moment of truth may have been the highlight of this episode and the shock value Levi obviously wanted to inculcate, but she is a woman of stead habits, too. She knows with all her might that the relationship is hanging by a thread, yet, before exhibiting her first-ever act of bravery--of leaving the man she bore a kid with--Mira has to wrestle with her demons: "If I don’t leave now, I might never." The juxtaposing of these similar-yet-different characters may not score high on the barometer for originality (Marriage Story/ Netflix) but the cracks through which this couple falls, and continues to descend, makes this modernised version truly modern--both in tone and treatment. Also read: The Starling review: Grief knows not what grief does Aptly titled 'The Art of Sweeping Things Under the Rug' (bold approach, told you!), the episode yet again starts with a real-life, behind-the-scenes setting with Isaac plugging in his earphones before we are ushered into the devastation that he is about to suffer. There are no other characters that are introduced apart from these two. But, who cares? Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain are so taut as Jonathan and Mira that the monotony of each scene does not squish the purity of the emotions felt. If anything, they act as elevators. 'Scenes From A Marriage' is now streaming on Disney + Hotstar.

Scenes From A Marriage EP 2 review: Living is not the same as existing

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Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya review: Kay Menon teaches, trolls, and questions our education system

Scenes From A Marriage EP 2 review: Living is not the same as existing