By Isha Sharma | Oct 01, 2025, 12:02 am
**What’s the story?**
*13th*, out on SonyLIV, is produced by Abhishek Dhandharia, who also serves as the showrunner. Created and written by Sameer Mishra and directed by Nishil Sheth, the show instantly reminds viewers of The Viral Fever (TVF) projects due to its rawness and theme. However, the similarities end there. Despite an interesting premise, the series, inspired by the life of Competishun founder Mohit Tyagi, never quite soars.
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### Plot: A student helps his teacher realize his dream
The show follows Ritesh (Paresh Pahuja), a rising venture capitalist who leaves his high-paying job to assist his mentor, MT Sir (Gagan Dev Riar). MT Sir was Ritesh’s teacher during his “13th year” — the drop year after 12th grade — when Ritesh was an IIT aspirant. Years later, Ritesh decides to help MT Sir build a visionary ed-tech startup. The question remains: will this guru-shishya duo succeed?
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### #1 The protagonist feels distant
*13th* struggles to hit the right notes due to its overly heavy-handed storytelling. From the very first frame, Ritesh is portrayed as an aggressive, hot-headed man who marches to the beat of his own drum. Early on, he delivers a fiery speech about his dissatisfaction with his job, setting the events in motion that lead him back to MT Sir—but this makes it hard for the audience to connect with him emotionally.
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### #2 Too filmy, too theatrical
While the show is conversation-heavy and features some sharp dialogues, most characters end up delivering full-fledged sermons. When MT Sir and Ritesh talk, they come off as somewhat filmy, cardboard-like characters rather than real, grounded people. Additionally, during the flashbacks of Ritesh’s JEE preparation, MT Sir’s mentorship is heavily spotlighted—but what about the other students?
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### #3 Underdeveloped supporting cast
The show focuses intensely on the two leads and largely neglects the supporting characters. Successful series like *Panchayat* and *The Family Man* develop all characters’ arcs to enhance the story’s believability, but *13th* falls short here. Girija Oak, who plays MT Sir’s wife, is given some nice scenes, but that’s scarcely enough to flesh out the wider narrative.
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### #4 Pahuja and Dev Riar keep the show afloat
The watchable moments in *13th* come from the chemistry and performances of Paresh Pahuja and Gagan Dev Riar. The series pays tribute to the teacher-student relationship, especially through Ritesh’s journey coming full circle as he helps MT Sir in his business. “I owe my life to him,” Ritesh says—and to repay that debt, he becomes his mentor’s mentor in return.
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### Verdict: Can skip this SonyLIV original
*13th’s* biggest undoing is that it takes itself too seriously, making it a tedious watch. Although we meet Ritesh’s friends early on, their storylines are never properly developed. The series attempts to capture the ache and angst of IIT aspirants and almost succeeds, but ultimately fails to fully capitalize on its promising theme.
**Rating: 2/5 stars**
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/entertainment/gagan-dev-riar-sonyliv-s-13th-review/story