Class of 2017
Class of 2017 is an Indian Hindi-language web series that premiered in 2017, centering on the experiences of eight teenagers confronting adolescent challenges such as peer pressure, anxiety, drug use, sexual exploration, and hormonal influences as they strive to mature without lasting harm.[1][2] Created by Vikas Gupta and produced by Lost Boy Productions, the series features emerging youth actors including Anshuman Malhotra and addresses relational dynamics, including debates over the primacy of sex versus love in partnerships.[3] With an IMDb user rating of 7.3 out of 10 based on over 400 reviews, it gained traction among Indian audiences for its portrayal of contemporary teen struggles, though it remains a niche production without major awards or widespread international acclaim.[1] The narrative unfolds across episodes available on platforms like YouTube, emphasizing personal growth amid societal and interpersonal tensions.[4]Overview
Premise and Format
Class of 2017 centers on eight teenagers confronting the trials of adolescence in an urban Indian high school, including peer pressure, anxiety, drug experimentation, sexual encounters, and hormonal turbulence as they strive to mature without lasting harm.[1] The narrative explores their intertwined lives amid these pressures, highlighting the complexities of youthful decision-making in a contemporary setting.[1] Produced as a Hindi-language web series for the ALTBalaji platform, the first season comprises 20 episodes, each running about 16 to 17 minutes.[5][6] This compact runtime supports an episodic format that prioritizes standalone character vignettes—such as individual "kahani" (stories) centered on specific teens—over tightly serialized plotting, allowing for focused examinations of personal conflicts within broader group dynamics.[7]Release and Distribution
Class of 2017 premiered on the ALTBalaji streaming platform on July 1, 2017, as an original Hindi-language web series consisting of multiple episodes released in batches.[8] ALTBalaji, launched earlier that year on April 16, 2017, by Balaji Telefilms, operates as a subscription-based video-on-demand service accessible via its mobile app and associated websites, enabling on-demand viewing for subscribers in India.[9] The series was distributed exclusively through this platform initially, targeting urban Indian youth with episodic content optimized for mobile streaming and short-form digital consumption.[10] Subsequent to its ALTBalaji debut, Class of 2017 became available on JioCinema, another Indian streaming service, where episodes could be accessed for free with a registered Jio account, expanding its reach within India through Reliance Jio's ecosystem.[11] Distribution remained primarily domestic, with no official international licensing or wide global availability reported at launch or in subsequent years, reflecting the platform's focus on the Indian market and regional content restrictions common to subscription video-on-demand services in the country.[2]Production
Development and Creation
Class of 2017 was conceived as a contemporary remake of the 1990s Indian television series Hip Hip Hurray, which originally explored adolescent school life, friendships, and challenges from 1998 to 2001. Vikas Gupta, founder of Lost Boy Productions, developed and produced the web series in partnership with ALTBalaji, Ekta Kapoor's video-on-demand platform, to adapt the original's themes for a digital audience amid the rise of Indian OTT content in the mid-2010s.[12][13] Development began in early 2017, with Gupta overseeing the screenplay alongside contributions from Pratim Rai, Suyash Vadhavkar, and Vidan Farhadi, updating storylines to address modern youth issues including peer pressure, romantic entanglements, substance experimentation, and hormonal influences without idealizing outcomes. The project aligned with ALTBalaji's strategy to produce original youth-oriented dramas, differentiating from traditional broadcast formats by incorporating bolder depictions of teen autonomy and behavioral repercussions. Suyash Vadhavkar was selected as director to helm the 20-episode first season, emphasizing narrative progression through individual decisions and relational dynamics over external interventions.[14] Gupta described the core intent as portraying a "coming of age story of a set of teenagers who are discovering their identity; and finding true meaning of friendship, life and love," drawing from observed generational shifts in Indian urban schooling to highlight unvarnished paths to maturity. This focus stemmed from consultations with youth demographics, prioritizing causal sequences of actions like risk-taking in social and intimate contexts, as evidenced by episode structures centered on immediate fallout from choices such as substance use or peer conflicts. The series launched on ALTBalaji on July 12, 2017, marking an early entry in the platform's expansion into serialized teen narratives.[15][6]Casting and Filming
The production cast emerging young actors to portray the series' teenage protagonists, emphasizing relatable youth demographics for authenticity in depicting high school dynamics. Anshuman Malhotra, a relatively new face at the time, was selected for the lead role of Siddharth (Sid), a decision that notably elevated his industry profile following the series' release. Supporting roles were filled by television veterans like Krissann Barretto as Sarah, Rohan Shah as Nikhil, and Adhish Khanna as Shaurya, chosen to capture the ensemble's peer interactions and emotional range without relying on established stars.[14] Filming occurred primarily in Mumbai, leveraging the city's urban infrastructure and constructed sets to recreate realistic high school classrooms, corridors, and city environments, aligning with the web series format's focus on grounded, narrative-driven visuals over high-budget effects.[1] This approach addressed typical constraints of digital production, prioritizing natural lighting and on-location shoots to enhance the portrayal of everyday teen pressures.[16]Cast and Characters
Main Characters
Siddharth, portrayed by Anshuman Malhotra, emerges as the central rebellious figure and informal leader of the affluent teenage clique, embodying the archetype of the entitled casanova who balances academic excellence as the school topper with impulsive pursuits of sexual conquests and substance use.[17][18] His traits include a carefree, womanizing demeanor driven by peer-reinforced thrill-seeking, often leveraging his privileged family background to fund extravagant habits and exert social dominance, though this exposes him to the repercussions of decisions involving drugs like erection-enhancing pills and exploitative relationships.[18][19] Sarah, played by Krissann Barretto, represents the vulnerable newcomer archetype, characterized by her initial studious innocence and simplicity amid the school's cutthroat social environment, where she contends with heightened anxiety from academic pressures and integration challenges.[18] Her arc underscores personal agency strained by external influences, including family support dynamics and the fallout from relational entanglements and peer manipulations involving substances, prompting a shift toward resilience without yielding to group conformity.[18] Jai, enacted by Rohit Suchanti, contributes to the narrative as a participant in the group's high-risk activities, marked by insecurities rooted in body image bullying that propel him toward self-punitive measures like starvation and obsessive fitness regimens, reflecting broader teen struggles with self-worth amid affluent excess.[19] Influenced by clique expectations and familial leniency toward indulgence, his motivations highlight the causal links between unchecked peer dynamics, substance experimentation, and the pursuit of validation through daring escapades, evolving to confront the tangible costs of such choices on personal health and identity.[19]Supporting Roles
Rohan Shah portrays Nikhil, a secondary student whose interactions with the core group highlight the tensions of peer loyalty and betrayal amid escalating conflicts involving substance abuse and romantic entanglements.[14] His character's arc demonstrates how peripheral friends can amplify group pressures, contributing to the series' depiction of causal chains in adolescent decision-making where individual choices propagate through social networks.[1] Pooja S. Jadhav plays Minnie, another supporting peer who influences the protagonists' navigation of identity and relational conflicts, adding layers to the ensemble's portrayal of intra-group dynamics in a co-educational setting.[14] Through Minnie's involvement, the narrative explores how secondary figures challenge or enable risky behaviors, such as experimentation with drugs, without external adult intervention dominating the storyline.[1] Rohit Suchanti's Jai exemplifies a supporting role pressured by negative influences within the student circle, as seen in episodes where isolation leads to vulnerability against group norms promoting deviance.[20] This character's experiences underscore the realism of friend-induced escalation in teen issues, portraying negligence in peer oversight as a factor distinct from inherent youthful impulses.[20] Sarah Khatri as Riya further enriches the social fabric, participating in subplots that reveal fractures in friendships over issues like anxiety and sexual curiosity.[14] The supporting cast's diversity, encompassing actors with surnames indicating regional and cultural variances (e.g., Jadhav suggesting Marathi heritage, Khatri potentially Punjabi), mirrors India's heterogeneous youth demographics, enhancing the authenticity of depicted societal interactions.[14][21] While adult authority figures like teachers or parents appear sparingly, their limited presence reinforces the series' focus on teen autonomy, implying causal contributions from adult disengagement to the unchecked progression of behaviors such as peer-driven substance use.[1] This approach avoids excusing indiscretions as mere rites of passage, instead attributing outcomes to intertwined teen agency and absent guardianship.[18]Content and Themes
Episode Summaries
The first season of Class of 2017, consisting of 20 episodes released on ALTBalaji in 2017, traces the evolving dynamics among a group of teenagers confronting peer influences, relational tensions, and personal dilemmas, with plot progression hinging on individual decisions amid school and social settings.[22] Early episodes establish character foundations through risky behaviors, such as Sid and his friends bribing a peon to host an unauthorized party on school grounds in Episode 1, which prompts scrutiny from authorities, and the principal's subsequent acceptance of Sid's explanation leading to his temporary exoneration in Episode 2, underscoring patterns of evasion and consequence avoidance.[22] Sarah's arrival as a new student, marked by her immediate aversion to the school and peers in Episode 3, introduces themes of adaptation and potential isolation driven by her defiant choices.[22]- Episodes 4–5 shift focus to Nikhil's pursuits, where Sid's encouragement leads him to seek a younger partner fulfilling a personal fantasy, culminating in a surprising escort encounter that challenges his expectations and decisions.[22]
- In Episodes 6–8, Jai's sense of exclusion within his circle exposes vulnerabilities to external pressures, evolving into unconventional engagements and a party involving intimate interactions like kisses and lap dances, testing group loyalties through escalating dares.[22]
- Episodes 9–12 delve into romantic pursuits and rivalries, with Ishan's extreme efforts to win Riya's attention on Rose Day, debates between Sid and Sarah on sex versus love in relationships, Tasha's irritation over Sid's flirtations, and her strategic alliance with Sarah to mend ties, highlighting choices in jealousy and reconciliation.[22]