When
you
step
out
of
school,
you
look
forward
to
the
life
in
college
and
of
course,
'freedom'.
You
are
stepping
into
adulthood,
learning
to
cope
with
life
and
enjoying
the
thought
that
you
will
be
able
to
take
your
own
decisions.
With
great
difficulty
you
procure
admission
in
a
college
and
hope
to
nurture
your
dreams.
But
is
it
all
that
fun?
Not
really!
I
was
horrified
when
I
read
a
news-report
sometime
back
about
a
student
being
forced
to
bathe
in
his
own
urine
by
his
seniors.
I
was
aghast.
I
was
disgusted.
I
was
appalled.
I
genuinely
felt
that
some
socially
responsible
film-maker
should
make
a
hard-hitting
film
on
ragging
and
create
awareness
on
the
evils
of
this
form
of
abuse,
which
has
caused
several
deaths
in
the
last
so
many
years.
Hostel,
directed
by
Manish
Gupta,
addresses
the
issue,
although
it's
not
the
first.
Munnabhai
M.B.B.S
and
3
Idiots
also
had
a
scene
or
two
depicting
the
maltreatment.
But
the
films
should
not
be
compared
because
this
one
is
a
full-fledged
film
on
this
subject.
The
story
of
Hostel
is
inspired
by
true-life
events,
I
am
told.
But
the
question
is,
does
it
serve
as
a
wakeup
call
in
the
true
sense?
Does
Hostel
successfully
bring
to
the
fore
the
gravity
of
torture
people
experience
in
the
name
of
ragging?
Unfortunately,
it
doesn't.
Sure,
it's
well
thought
of
and
well
intentioned,
but
not
well
penned
and
well
executed.
The
film
starts
off
brilliantly,
but
loses
focus
midway.
Ideally,
a
film
depicting
an
evil
should
stay
close
to
reality.
It
should
depict
the
atrocities
committed
in
the
name
of
ragging
without
deviating
to
alternative
tracks
[in
this
film,
the
romantic
track
is
a
big
bore].
A
film
tackling
this
theme
should
open
your
eyes
to
what
a
victim
goes
through.
After
all,
the
motive
of
films
like
Hostel
is
to
act
as
an
eye
opener,
to
evoke
feelings
like
anger
and
disgust,
but
it
doesn't
evoke
those
feelings,
frankly.
Ragging
is
a
sadistic
practice
that
has
become
a
ritual
wherein
students
are
beaten
up,
stripped,
paraded
naked,
starved,
tortured,
molested
and
even
raped
by
their
seniors.
Since
victims
of
ragging
find
it
humiliating
to
report
sexual
abuse
to
their
parents
or
others,
most
ragging-related
crimes
go
unreported.
Sadly,
these
very
students
-
who
suffer
silently
at
the
hands
of
their
seniors
-
in
turn
vent
their
frustrations
by
ragging
their
juniors
in
the
following
years.
Thus,
this
cruel
practice
continues
year
after
year
and
has
claimed
[and
is
still
claiming]
the
lives
and
careers
of
innumerable
students.
Hostel
comes
to
the
point
at
the
very
start.
The
sequence
at
the
outset
-
of
Mukesh
Tiwari
physically
abusing
the
young
students
-
is
hair-raising.
A
few
minutes
later,
he
repeats
the
act
with
the
protagonist,
Vatsal
Sheth.
To
give
the
credit
where
it's
due,
the
sequences
are
disturbing
and
you
only
hope
that
the
goings-on
succeed
in
maintaining
your
interest.
Hostel
crumbles
the
moment
the
love
story
begins.
Plus,
an
interesting
twist
in
the
film
-
of
Vatsal
confronting
a
gangster
-
looks
plain
ridiculous.
At
this
point,
Mukesh
Tiwari,
who
should've
turned
more
ferocious,
goes
on
back
foot
when
it
comes
to
dealing
with
Vatsal.
Why?
The
post-interval
portions,
again,
don't
measure
up
to
the
expectations.
The
finale
is
too
cliched
and
formulaic.
Director
Manish
Gupta,
who
went
into
an
investigative
mode
in
The
Stoneman
Murders,
which
was
an
engrossing
fare,
lacks
the
promise
he
showed
in
that
film.
And
he's
to
be
held
responsible
for
it,
since
he's
penned
the
script
of
this
one.
He
should've
stuck
to
realism,
instead
of
trying
to
balance
between
real
and
hackneyed
and
corny
sequences.
Also,
this
one
should've
been
a
song
less
film,
but
the
few
songs
throw
a
spanner
in
the
narrative.
Cinematography
is
functional.
One
of
the
reasons
why
Hostel
doesn't
work
is
because
the
casting
is
not
right.
Barring
Mukesh
Tiwari,
who
looks
convincing
and
does
well
and
Nagesh
Bhosle
[warden],
who
is
equally
effective,
the
actors
don't
look
their
parts.
Vatsal
Sheth
relies
on
a
set
of
expressions
all
through
the
film,
while
Tulip
Joshi
is
wasted.
The
students
don't
look
like
students,
frankly.
They
actually
appear
more
like
street
thugs
or
rowdies
and
less
like
students
of
engineering
to
me.
On
the
whole,
Hostel
is
a
solid
idea
gone
awry.
Director:
Manish
Gupta
Cast:
Vatsal
Sheth,
Tulip
Joshi,
Mukesh
Tiwari
Movie
Rating: