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 "excerpt": "Shiksha Mandal is a 2022 Hindi MX Player crime thriller web series, 9 episodes directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal, starring Gulshan Devaiah, Gauahar Khan, and Pavan Raj Malhotra, dramatizing the Madhya Pradesh medical entrance exam scam.",
 "snippet": "Shiksha Mandal is a 2022 Hindi MX Player crime thriller web series, 9 episodes directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal, starring Gulshan Devaiah, Gauahar Khan, and Pavan Raj Malhotra, dramatizing the Madhya Pradesh medical entrance exam scam.",
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 "markdown": "# Shiksha Mandal\n\n**Shiksha Mandal** is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language crime drama thriller web series directed and written by Syed Ahmad Afzal and released on [MX Player](https://www.edgepedia.org/mx-player) on 15 September 2022<sup>[1](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/shiksha-mandal-web-series-112873)</sup>. Inspired by true events, it dramatizes a medical entrance exam scam in [Madhya Pradesh](https://www.edgepedia.org/madhya-pradesh) in which high-scoring students are paid to take the test on fake IDs for other candidates<sup>[3](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/shiksha-mandal/xZlvTwUvD8mwPiHLI73Ud6/)</sup>. The nine-episode season stars [Gulshan Devaiah](https://www.edgepedia.org/gulshan-devaiah), Gauahar Khan, and Pavan Raj Malhotra<sup>[4](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/gauahar-khan-gulshan-devaiah-pavan-malhotra-mx-player-shiksha-mandal-8039532/lite/)</sup>.\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original release | 15 September 2022, MX Player (MX Original Series)<sup>[1](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/shiksha-mandal-web-series-112873)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/news/hindi/mx-player-series-shiksha-mandal-to-premiere-on-september-15/articleshow/93855973.cms)</sup> |\n| Format | One season of 9 episodes, roughly 36 to 61 minutes each<sup>[2](https://www.jiotv.com/tv-shows/shiksha-mandal/08955443d8035b9eb17e69dfaf00fcd7)</sup> |\n| Creator | Written and directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal; cinematography by Subhransu<sup>[1](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/shiksha-mandal-web-series-112873)</sup> |\n| Lead cast | Gulshan Devaiah (Aditya Rai), Gauahar Khan (SP Anuradha Singh Srivastav), Pavan Raj Malhotra (Dhansu Yadav), Iram Badar Khan (Vidya Rai)<sup>[3](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/shiksha-mandal/xZlvTwUvD8mwPiHLI73Ud6/)</sup> |\n| Setting | Bhopal and Indore, Madhya Pradesh; based on a real medical entrance exam scam unearthed in the state in 2013<sup>[12](https://deepagahlot.com/shiksha-mandal-web-series-review/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/reviews/hindi/shiksha-mandal/season-1/seasonreview/94007700.cms)</sup> |\n| Audience rating | 6.3 on IMDb; age rating UA16+<sup>[8](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/shiksha-mandal)</sup> |\n| Current availability | Free with ads on MX Player, Amazon MX Player, and Amazon Prime Video<sup>[8](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/shiksha-mandal)</sup> |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and plot\n\nThe story follows Vidya Rai (Iram Badar Khan), a medical aspirant and the topper of a Bhopal coaching institute run by her brother Aditya Rai (Gulshan Devaiah). She is trapped into appearing for someone else's medical entrance exam on a fake ID, is blackmailed and kidnapped by Dhansu Yadav (Pavan Raj Malhotra), the gangster running the racket, and then goes missing after being marked absent<sup>[2](https://www.jiotv.com/tv-shows/shiksha-mandal/08955443d8035b9eb17e69dfaf00fcd7)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[11](https://bingebaaz.com/2026/09/26/best-hindi-series-amazon-mx-player-watch-free/)</sup>. Aditya's search for his sister draws him into the scam itself, and he is eventually arrested under it<sup>[2](https://www.jiotv.com/tv-shows/shiksha-mandal/08955443d8035b9eb17e69dfaf00fcd7)</sup>.\n\nThe series frames the racket as an entire system rather than a single villain. Well-scoring students, called \"Rajus\" in the scammers' vocabulary, are cherry-picked across Madhya Pradesh to sit the highly competitive medical entrance exams as proxies for weaker candidates<sup>[13](https://www.ottplay.com/amp/review/shiksha-mandal-season-1-review-gauhar-khan-gulshan-devaiah-only-originals-in-this-otherwise-tired-social-drama/c89121b1e9520)</sup>. Coaching centers, university deans, examination boards, police, media, and top government officials are all depicted as participants in a network producing fake doctors and medical students without merit<sup>[3](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/shiksha-mandal/xZlvTwUvD8mwPiHLI73Ud6/)</sup>. The exposure begins when a special task force officer, Anuradha ([Gauahar Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/gauahar-khan)), is assigned to the case<sup>[3](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/shiksha-mandal/xZlvTwUvD8mwPiHLI73Ud6/)</sup>.\n\n## Production and release\n\nMX Player announced the series in July 2022 under the tagline \"Power Paise Ka… Scam Shiksha Ka\", describing it as a social thriller about corruption, fraud, cheating, and criminal conspiracy in the education sector<sup>[4](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/gauahar-khan-gulshan-devaiah-pavan-malhotra-mx-player-shiksha-mandal-8039532/lite/)</sup>. It premiered on 15 September 2022 as an MX Original<sup>[5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/news/hindi/mx-player-series-shiksha-mandal-to-premiere-on-september-15/articleshow/93855973.cms)</sup>. The series was produced by Piyush Dinesh Gupta and Naam Mein Kya Rakha Hai productions<sup>[10](https://www.cineblues.com/ott-web-series-review/shiksha-mandal-mx-players-gulshan-devaiah-gauhar-khan)</sup>.\n\nAfter Amazon acquired assets of MX Player and merged the service with Amazon miniTV into Amazon MX Player, Shiksha Mandal became part of the combined free, ad-supported library<sup>[14](https://www.aboutamazon.in/news/entertainment/amazon-minitv-mx-player-merger)</sup>. It is currently streamable free with ads on MX Player, Amazon MX Player, and Amazon Prime Video<sup>[8](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/shiksha-mandal)</sup>.\n\n## Reception\n\nCritics received the season as engaging but uneven. The Times of India gave it 3.0 out of 5, calling it an \"engaging but flawed look at the education scam\" and noting that subplots such as Aditya's romance and Anuradha's divorce add little depth<sup>[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/reviews/hindi/shiksha-mandal/season-1/seasonreview/94007700.cms)</sup>. OTTplay's review, also 3.0 out of 5, praised Gauahar Khan and Gulshan Devaiah as the only originals in an otherwise tired social drama while crediting the series with an insightful story<sup>[13](https://www.ottplay.com/amp/review/shiksha-mandal-season-1-review-gauhar-khan-gulshan-devaiah-only-originals-in-this-otherwise-tired-social-drama/c89121b1e9520)</sup>. Reviewer Deepa Gahlot wrote that the series gets the small-town milieu and dialect right but falters with too many subplots and extraneous characters<sup>[12](https://deepagahlot.com/shiksha-mandal-web-series-review/)</sup>. On IMDb the series holds a 6.3 rating<sup>[8](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/shiksha-mandal)</sup>.\n\nIn reach, the series performed strongly for its platform. A Chrome Data cross-media measurement report ranked it second among measured shows with a reach of 39.10 million viewers, ahead of [House of the Dragon](https://www.edgepedia.org/house-of-the-dragon) (31.20 million) on that list<sup>[9](https://chromedm.com/cdt/assets/images/Chrome%20Digital%20Track%20-%20Cross%20Media%20Measurement%20Report.pdf)</sup>.\n\n## Context among education-scam dramas\n\nShiksha Mandal belongs to a cluster of Indian streaming titles built around the same real-world material. The Times of India's review groups it with Halahal (2020), [The Whistleblower](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-whistleblower) (2021), and [Crash Course](https://www.edgepedia.org/crash-course) (2022) as fictitious recreations of the scam unearthed in Madhya Pradesh in 2013<sup>[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/reviews/hindi/shiksha-mandal/season-1/seasonreview/94007700.cms)</sup>. Leisurebyte's review likewise compares it to The Whistleblower, finding Shiksha Mandal sometimes too familiar in structure but noting that its missing-student mystery gives the institutional corruption a personal cost<sup>[6](https://leisurebyte.com/shiksha-mandal-review-gauahar-khan-gulshan-devaiah/)</sup>.\n\n## The unrelated educational institution\n\nThe name Shiksha Mandal also belongs to a century-old educational trust based in Wardha, Maharashtra, founded by [Jamnalal Bajaj](https://www.edgepedia.org/jamnalal-bajaj) and influenced by the freedom movement and [Mahatma Gandhi](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahatma-gandhi). It opened a school at Wardha in 1919, moved into higher education with a Commerce College in 1940, and now runs colleges of commerce, science, agriculture, engineering, and technology in Wardha and Nagpur; the nation's first education conference, presided over by Gandhi, was held there in 1937<sup>[15](https://gscen.shikshamandal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Prospectus-2015-2016.pdf)</sup>. It has no connection to the web series beyond the shared name.\n\n## References\n\n1. [Shiksha Mandal Web Series (2022), Gadgets 360](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/shiksha-mandal-web-series-112873)\n2. [Shiksha Mandal TV Show, JioTV](https://www.jiotv.com/tv-shows/shiksha-mandal/08955443d8035b9eb17e69dfaf00fcd7)\n3. [Shiksha Mandal (2022): Season 1, Cast & Where to Watch, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/shiksha-mandal/xZlvTwUvD8mwPiHLI73Ud6/)\n4. [Gauahar Khan, Gulshan Devaiah and Pavan Malhotra to star in MX Player's Shiksha Mandal, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/gauahar-khan-gulshan-devaiah-pavan-malhotra-mx-player-shiksha-mandal-8039532/lite/)\n5. [MX Player series 'Shiksha Mandal' to premiere on September 15, Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/news/hindi/mx-player-series-shiksha-mandal-to-premiere-on-september-15/articleshow/93855973.cms)\n6. [Shiksha Mandal Review, Leisurebyte](https://leisurebyte.com/shiksha-mandal-review-gauahar-khan-gulshan-devaiah/)\n7. [Shiksha Mandal Season 1 Review, Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/reviews/hindi/shiksha-mandal/season-1/seasonreview/94007700.cms)\n8. [Shiksha Mandal - streaming tv show online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/shiksha-mandal)\n9. [Chrome Digital Track Cross Media Measurement Report, Chrome DM](https://chromedm.com/cdt/assets/images/Chrome%20Digital%20Track%20-%20Cross%20Media%20Measurement%20Report.pdf)\n10. [Shiksha Mandal review, Cineblues](https://www.cineblues.com/ott-web-series-review/shiksha-mandal-mx-players-gulshan-devaiah-gauhar-khan)\n11. [10 Best Hindi Series on Amazon MX Player You Can Watch Free, Bingebaaz](https://bingebaaz.com/2026/09/26/best-hindi-series-amazon-mx-player-watch-free/)\n12. [Shiksha Mandal - Web Series Review, Deepa Gahlot](https://deepagahlot.com/shiksha-mandal-web-series-review/)\n13. [Shiksha Mandal Season 1 review, OTTplay](https://www.ottplay.com/amp/review/shiksha-mandal-season-1-review-gauhar-khan-gulshan-devaiah-only-originals-in-this-otherwise-tired-social-drama/c89121b1e9520)\n14. [Amazon acquires MX Player and merges it with miniTV, About Amazon India](https://www.aboutamazon.in/news/entertainment/amazon-minitv-mx-player-merger)\n15. [Shiksha Mandal: An Overview, G. S. College of Commerce prospectus](https://gscen.shikshamandal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Prospectus-2015-2016.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › South and Southeast Asian serials › Hindi serials and Indian Hindi-language dramas › Crime and thriller serials*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n",
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  "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.",
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 "credit": "\"Shiksha Mandal\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/shiksha-mandal. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.",
 "credit_md": "\"[Shiksha Mandal](https://www.edgepedia.org/shiksha-mandal)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/shiksha-mandal](https://www.edgepedia.org/shiksha-mandal). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).",
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 "speakable": "Shiksha Mandal is a 2022 Hindi MX Player crime thriller web series, 9 episodes directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal, starring Gulshan Devaiah, Gauahar Khan, and Pavan Raj Malhotra, dramatizing the Madhya Pradesh medical entrance exam scam."
}