Saagar Kote
‘Hello Bachhon’ chronicles the journey of physics teacher Alakh Pandey and his endeavor to democratize education in India. Through his online platform, “Physics Wallah,” Alakh offers affordable training for competitive exams, aspiring to help every student achieve their goals. However, his mission faces unforeseen hurdles that force him to confront the magnitude of his ambitions. Beyond Alakh’s tale, the series delves into the struggles of ambitious young students nationwide. These students grapple with a competitive world and face personal challenges, including familial, financial, and social pressures, as they strive to become doctors and engineers.
The show acts as a mirror to social realities, class disparities, and the ethical dilemmas in the Indian education system that survives on competition. Within the larger narrative, Aditya More and Tripti Dahiya are two crucial characters who symbolize the experiences of the students. Both characters play pivotal roles in driving the story forward and also impact Alakh’s overall character arc. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Aditya More’s Difficult Journey to Success Serves as an Inspiration to Alakh Pandey
Aditya More is a Mumbai boy who is addicted to drugs and cheats in his exams. He does odd jobs for a local man, who mistreats him. Due to poverty, Aditya’s mother forces him to keep working for the abusive boss. Right from the beginning of his journey in the story, Aditya’s character reflects the urban hustle culture of India. His character represents the struggles of students from the proletariat classes. Aditya sees a boy celebrated for getting into IIT through attending Physics Wallah (PW) classes. Through this moment, the narrative captures the essence of the IIT dream that inspires thousands of students in India. Realizing his drug addiction is a major issue, Aditya begins watching PW videos and quits drugs despite pressure from friends.
He improves his life but gets into trouble with a drug dealer named Santosh, who beats Aditya for exposing his operation. A bruised Aditya takes the JEE (Advanced) exam and passes, but worries about college fees. He doesn’t get an IIT scholarship, but his mother, friends, and former boss fund his admission. Years later, on a podcast with Alakh, Aditya shares his success and thanks PW and Alakh for the same. He then goes on to become a PW faculty member who is respected by the students.
His journey from humble origins to a respected teacher depicts the value of hard work and honesty in an unfair world. Towards the end of the narrative, we see glimpses of a real-life student who partly inspired Aditya’s character in the show. However, the identity of the real student remains unknown. Thus, the show recognizes the sacrifices made by thousands of students across India, whose stories may be very much like Aditya’s.
Tripti Dahiya Dares to Fight Against Gender Based Discrimination in Her Family
In Sonipat, Haryana, Tripti Dahiya comes from a modest family and is one of the toppers of her school. She competes with another student, Ankit, for the best NEET exam score. They are both excellent students and want to become doctors at any cost. However, Ankit and Tripti have a bitter relationship because the former mistreats Tripti. Tripti faces discouragement and a lack of family support, especially from her father, who opposes her dreams because she is a girl, while Ankit has full support from his family. Tripti’s character arc sheds light on the persistent issue of gender discrimination in Indian society. Tripti’s gender becomes her biggest curse at the family level as she is forced to sacrifice her own dreams to please the family. Tripti is forced into a marriage proposal, despite still being underage.
Her experiences in the story highlight a crucial social issue, where girls are forced to get married at a young age. Ankit apologizes to her for his past behaviour and urges her to fight her family, pursue her dreams through PW, and prove herself by achieving a high rank before marriage. They study together, and in the NEET results, Tripti scores a higher rank than Ankit. Tripti’s father realizes his mistakes and agrees to let her pursue her dreams.
Tripti’s story inspires Alakh to be better at his job. At the end of the narrative, we see hints that Tripti’s character is loosely inspired by the real-life experiences of a student. But the student’s real name is not revealed. Tripti’s character represents the struggles of the unknown real-life girl who saw hope in PW classes. However, Tripti also represents the experiences of several other girls who have to face multiple gender barriers to achieve their goals.
Read More: True Story of Alakh Pandey
