TVF Aspirants on Youtube has become one of the most loved web series in recent times. It attracted viewers just after the first episode premiered and kept them waiting for short intervals while the remaining episodes were released one by one. The series revolves around the emotional turmoil of UPSC aspirants, the ups and downs they go through, and their perseverance in order to achieve their end goal. It is a story of relationships amongst friends and romantic partners, their individual aims and aspirations, and the eventual dilemma to choose one over the other. 

1. What happened between Guri and Abhilash?

When the results of the preliminary exam are declared, Guri and Abhilash do not make it. Both of them are disappointed, but Guri is the more carefree one. He doesn’t fuss about not making it through and moves on quickly. On the other hand, Abhilash is extremely upset. It was his last attempt. He doesn’t have another opportunity to try his luck. His dream of becoming an IAS officer will remain incomplete now. Guri tries to lighten Abhilash’s mood by talking about how it was not the last thing in his life and there is so much more to explore. Guri mentions in a rather joking way that the two can go to his village and do farming together. Abhilash however loses his temper. In front of all the people there at the tea stall. He lets out Guri’s secret that he is deaf from one ear and that has applied through the reservation quota. Guri didn’t want other people’s sympathy therefore he never told anyone about his complication. However, as Abhilash reveals this secret, Guri loses his trust in Abhilash and the two have a fallout.

2. Why did Abhilash break up with Dhairya?

There are two main reasons which caused Abhilash and Dhairya’s break-up. Abhilash had a dream of not clearing the UPSC exam but still having Dhairya by his side because even she didn't clear the exam. The dream makes him realise that only if both of them do not clear the exam, will they be able to continue their relationship. Otherwise, if one clears the exam and the other does not, or if after clearing the entrance, both get selected for different posts, it will be difficult to maintain the relationship. Apart from that, in the Old Rajinder Nagar area, where all the aspirants resided, it was often said that the relationships that begin during UPSC preparation in this area never work. Therefore, Abhilash thought that it was much easier to get rid of the relationship and focus on the exam instead of dealing with the unnecessary pressure of thinking about how to make the relationship work later.

This plotline felt very forced. While watching the show, I thought this wasn’t reason enough to break up at that point. It became obvious that the showrunners needed to introduce this plot point to add to the Abhilash-Dhairya-Guri love triangle. They could have shown them have a fallout of some kind and that would have been more believable in my opinion. 

3. Who all cleared UPSC in Aspirants?

Out of the five lead characters in the TVF Aspirants - Abhilash, Guri, SK, Sandeep, and Dhairya - only Abhilash is able to accomplish his dream of becoming an IAS officer. SK and Dhairya clear the preliminary round but do not go beyond that. Sandeep and Guri, do not even clear the first round of the three-round process. 

4. How did Abhilash become an IAS?

A UPSC aspirant has a maximum limit of four attempts for the UPSC entrance exam. As the show begins, we are told that it’s Abhilash’s last and final attempt. He had cleared the preliminary round once in the earlier attempts as well but couldn’t go beyond that. Therefore, it is his last shot to clear the exam in order to fulfill his dream of becoming an IAS officer. However, by the end of the fourth episode, it turns out that Abhilash does not clear the preliminary round of his final attempt. But despite that, he becomes an IAS officer because, in 2014, the government increased the number of attempts for the UPSC entrance exam. Thus, Abhilash cleared the test in one of his two attempts after 2014 and became an IAS officer.

5. Why did Sandeep bhaiya not marry Kusum?

Kusum was the love of Sandeep’s life. He fell in love with her when he used to be a teacher at a government school. Sandeep was engaged to her but he had asked Kusum for a year so that he could prepare for the UPSC exam. He believed that once he cleared the exam, he would be able to provide for a family and could marry Kusum without any worries. However, Sandeep did not end up clearing the exam in all four of his attempts. Kusum let go of all her own aims and aspirations in order to support Sandeep. But for him, even four years could not suffice. Therefore, after failing in the last UPSC attempt but clearing the PCS exam, he becomes a civil servant. Still, he does not return to Kusum to take the next step in their relationship because he is embarrassed and unsettled about making her wait all this while.

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