Netflix Original Film ‘Upstarts’ tells the story of 3 friends who aspire to be entrepreneurs. We see them constantly brainstorming on ideas for their start-up to an extent where, when Kapil (Priyanshu Painyuli) and Yash (Chandrachoor Rai) fail to help their friend Vinay (Shadab Kamal) in eloping with his girlfriend they come up with an idea of beginning a start-up that would help couples elope.
During his weekly volunteering duty, Kapil witnesses the death of an old man which was caused due to medicines that couldn’t be delivered to his remote village. That’s when he comes up with the idea of CarryKaro, an app that would deliver medicines to any nook and corner of the country. The trio is kicked about the idea and sets to put it to execution working arduously towards it. Right from working on the technical aspects to talking to potential users and going to villages to educate its residents and finally striving hard to get an investor. Kapil, Vinay and Yash are aiming at leading the start-up arena but somewhere there is also a noble cause to support an NGO in their minds.
There is failure, there is a struggle and a bond that keeps their friendship strong. Suddenly, Kapil comes across the son of a business tycoon Veer Diwan (Rajeev Siddhartha) and succeeds to sell him his idea. The script does seem a bit predictable but the little incidents, friendship, success, failure all these aspects make it a good watch. However, at some places, the writing does seem a bit weak. The characters seem interesting in the beginning but later their growth becomes stagnant and the transitions of the characters seem abrupt. However, I feel the film gives us an in-depth idea of the start-up eco-system. The concept, though not being new, is still engaging. Somewhere, the various stages of the story don’t seem to make an impact. At one point you see CarryKaro picking up and next, you see Kapil being featured on the front cover of a Business Magazine. I wish, Shadab Kamal’s and Chandrachoor Rai’s characters had more to them.
Success, differences, ego-clashes and fallouts are perfectly weaved in this film. Where on one hand Kapil gets into the business grind, Vinay, after learning about his father’s illness takes to drinking and the friends end up parting ways in business. However, through highs and lows, their friendship stays intact.
The story is relatable but somewhere it fails to leave a mark.
Watch the trailer here: