Hai Junoon Review: In this Hotstar Special series, we follow the different students of the prestigious Anderson College who fight for their lives to win the GOAT Trophy. As the Misfits and the Supersonics try to one-up each other, everyone’s personal lives come on full display as well.
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Hai Junoon Hotstar Cast
Neil Nitin Mukesh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sumedh Mudgalkar, Siddharth Nigam, Priyank Sharma, Boman Irani
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Director
Abhishek Sharma
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AKA
Hai Junoon: Dream. Dare. Dominate.
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Music By
Shankar Mahadevan
The series is set to have 20 episodes, each with a runtime of around 30 – 45 minutes.
Hai Junoon Review
Watching 20 episodes of young adults being absolute brats and getting into dumb rivalries feels like the worst thing that can happen to any adult who is over that phase. Thus, Hai Junoon feels like a headache and a half when you reach the 10th episode and realise that there are 10 more.
The series follows a bunch of college students who don’t know when to rein themselves in, forming two groups and then competing for a prestigious award. It’s a story that we have seen many times before in many different formats, but maybe not in so many words. One of the reasons why the series is this long is probably because there are far too many characters with far too many problems that the series wants to tackle. Every issue that you can think of comes up in the series that we discuss at length, resulting in a very bloated runtime.
This isn’t to say that the series is terrible, but it does make you question your sanity amid the unnecessary drama quite a few times. I feel like the series does itself a disservice with the sheer number of storylines that bog the runtime down. The storyline doesn’t necessitate 20 episodes of drama, and the squabbles feel rather cringy after a while. The thing is that there is hardly anything at stake here. You know everything will turn out for the best eventually, and that’s exactly what happens. Thus, there’s no thrill or anticipation while watching the show.
I thought the musical numbers were quite fun, most were a twist to old songs that we know and love, which gives everything a fresh perspective. They add the necessary zing to the runtime, but personally, they aren’t that memorable. I found the teachers’ squabbles to be pathetic and clichéd. Jacqueline Fernandez’s whole storyline is an insane fever dream that is completely unnecessary. On the other hand, I am tired of watching Neil Nitin Mukesh devolve into a dictator in every other show. There can be other ways that we see conflict without adults acting crazy.
When it comes to the rest of the crew, most of their struggles are real and feel relatable, but I can’t help but feel like they were added to get brownie points. Although most of these issues mesh together well and are important to talk about, the sheer number of topics presented makes it feel like the series is trying too hard. That being said, I think the students make this worthwhile, although I found their rivalry to be non-existent and, quite frankly, dull. There’s no tension or zing to the fight between the Supersonics and the Misfits because, although their goals are the same, their mode of fighting is extremely different.
Final Thoughts
Hai Junoon is fine, albeit it’s a one-time watch in my book. It’s great for a light, background run, but things get annoying if you really dig deep into it. However, there’s nothing much to dig here either, its character and story arcs run on a very known path and do nothing to make you sit on the edge of your seat.
Also Read: Overcompensating Review: Fun, Extremely Loud, Thoroughly Relatable