'Class' is an adaptation of the popular Spanish series' 'Elite,' which was created by Carlos Montero and Dario Madrona. The creators (Ashim Ahluwalia, Kashyap Kapoor and Raghav Kakkar) have based the Indian show in Delhi, with the same story that centres around three teenagers-studious Muslim girl Saba Manzoor (Madhyama Segal), sensible and level-headed Dheeraj Kumar Valmiki (Piyush Khati) and cool dude Balli Sehrawat (Cwaayal Singh)-who are from slums but join an elite high school through a scholarship program, which ignites the class war between the rich and the poor kids.
Similar to its original show, this eight-part series with nearly hourly episodes serves intrigue early on. The narrative starts at the conclusion of our story when a murder has been committed, and the police question these teenagers who could have been potential suspects. 'Class' doesn't have a central protagonist, but most of the drama and mystery revolves around the death of one particular character, whose identity is revealed at the end of the first episode. The narrative shifts between the present and the past to answer the show's most pressing question: who is the killer ?
As the story progresses, the focus shifts to the school's popular students-a free-spirited Suhani Ahuja (Anjali Sivaraman), who is constantly high, her older brother and a spoilt brat with a kind heart, Veer Ahuja (Zeyn Shaw), a social influencer and Veer's girlfriend, Yashika Mehta (Ayesha Kanga), experimental couple Sharam Gujral (Moses Koul) and Koel Kalra (Naina Bhan) and principal's son, Dhruv Sanghvi (Chayan Chopra), who is still in the closet-who receive equal screen time and character arcs.
Everyone performs well, but they don't do enough to stand out. Suhani's troubled past is recounted hurriedly and fails to elicit sympathy. Her relationship with Dheeraj's brother Neeraj (Gurfateh Pirzada) is also underwhelming. Another subplot involves two closeted teenagers, Dhruv and Saba's drug peddler brother Faruq (Chintan Rachchh), but sadly, they get less screen time. Despite this, the show keeps you invested in its characters and their personal lives.
There is plenty of sex, nudity and drama here. And, while it is certainly bold for an Indian series, the show lacks originality in presenting the flow of the events. Except for a few tweaks in the story, the makers have not meddled with the original show in order to create a different version. Adding a few more twists and turns to the story that wasn't in the original show, on the other hand, would have made it less predictable and more intriguing.
Inspired by the Spanish version, the series producer (Bodhitree Multimedia) and director Ashim Ahluwalia, incorporates a posh school into the picture, where most of the scenes were shot. The production values are high and clearly on par with the Spanish school to depict the lifestyle of these hi-fi students. Some sections show glimpses of Delhi's alleyways, from Gaffar Market to Chandni Chowk and historical sites like Agrasen Ki Baoli.
In a nutshell, those who have seen 'Elite' will find nothing new in the story besides the different locations and cast. For others, it's a binge-worthy murder mystery that will keep you hooked until the end.
