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EDITOR'S PICK
Karan
scores with fluffy yet substantial `Student Of The Year`
Rating: ***
After love your parents message, Karan Johar now talks about loving your friends
in his latest film "Student Of The Year" (SOTY).
"Student Of The Year" is light and fluffy, yet full of substance. The
lead threesome - Varun Dhawan, Siddharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt - are adorable.
The narrative goes back and forth in a similar fashion that was witnessed in
"Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na". School friends meet after a decade of
leaving school when they come to meet their dean, Yogendra Vashisth (Rishi
Kapoor) who is unwell and recap their final year in school.
They studied in St. Teresa, a formidable school where kids of rich and famous
mingle with hardworking scholars. The contrast is evident when the have-nots are
at the beck and call of the creme de la creme.
The rich and flamboyant, Rohan Nanda (Varun Dhawan) is the heartthrob of the
school. Shanaya (Alia Bhatt) is his taken for granted girlfriend. Life is hunky
dory, till Abhimanyu Singh (Siddharth Malhotra) enters.
SOTY is quite unpredictable. Instead of the regular cliched rivalry, here are
two friends who bond together, till circumstances push them away.
For those who are not into teenybopper may find the film dragging in parts. It`s
only post-interval when the competition for the Student of the Year Award hots
up that the viewer is glued to his seat. The pace of the film picks up and we
wonder who will walk away with the coveted trophy?
The film emits Karan Johar`s pink humour in plenty.
Rishi Kapoor as the gay dean with a roving eye and soft corner for sports coach,
played by Ronit Roy, is fabulous. The scene where he throws the `dafli` at the
coach`s wife during the sangeet ceremony of Rohana`s brother is thoroughly
enjoyable.
The camera does not miss any opportunity to capture the best of the male leads
Siddharth and Varun, with their six-pack abs et al. A treat for the eyes of
many.
In terms of performances, all the three debutants are confidence personified.
Siddharth is a bit stiff in certain scenes, whereas Alia Bhatt obviously has
acting in her genes. But it is Varun Dhawan who steals the show with his
charismatic and endearing performance. He is spontaneous and an elegant dancer.
Niranjan Iyengar`s dialogues have their moments. With puns and rhymes, he wows
the audiences.
Alia`s dialouge that her marriage will not be decided by `rab` (god in Punjabi),
but at the rich wife`s club elicits lots of laughter.
If Rensil D`silva`s screenplay is sleek, production quality is visually
appealing, glossy and vibrant. Vishal-Shekhar`s young, peppy and soulful
compositions are enjoyable and foot-tapping.
Overall, the film is larger than life. A blend of "High School
Musical" and Julia Robert`s "Monalisa Smile" is an enjoyable
combination.
Definitely worth a watch.
Actor Manjot Singh of "Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!" fame says whenever he expresses his desire to do serious and romantic roles in Bollywood, he is told that a "Sardar will only be accepted in a comic role". The young actor believes only Sikh actors can break this perception.The audience has seen his comic side in films like "Student of the Year" and "Fukrey".He agrees that he has done many comic roles but "not the ones where I have had to humiliate myself. The kind of roles that I have taken up were more like situational comedy".And he wants to explore more genres.Read More
KJo is father of 'high school' film genre, says EktaProducer Ekta Kapoor says filmmaker Karan Johar is the father of "high school" film genre right from the time of his debut directorial "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", which released in 1998."Hey Karan Johar, for all the world who thinks I'm spinning off 'Student Of The Year' (with) 'Punch Beat', (it) is not that! But since you are the father of this 'genre' right from 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' bless this show please and wish Rosewoodians good luck! We at ALT Balaji love you," Ekta tweeted on Saturday.To which, Karan praised "Punch Beat" saying that the show looks cool and that he wants exclusive viewing rights.Read More
The road from youth to adulthood is paved with myriad emotions and Student Of The Year celebrates this colorful coming of age. It is the story of Abhimanyu Singh (Sidharth Malhotra) and Rohan Nanda (Varun Dhawan) who traverse the path of competition, envy, triumph, failure, manipulation and heartbreak in their mini-universe of St. Teresa’s High School, Dehradun.Abhimanyu Singh a.k.a Abhi comes from a middle-class family and wants to achieve great heights of success and prosperity, the first step to which will be the Student of the Year trophy while Rohan Nanda a.k.a Ro, is the son of a business tycoon who grapples with a complex relationship with his father and knows that winning the Student Of the Year trophy will bag him the approval that he subconsciously craves for.When the two protagonists with distinct backgrounds and clear goals clash with each other in the locker room, football field and the canteen, there is no question in anyone’s mind that the preset equations of the St.T’scampus were about to change.
When Abhi and Rohan’s rivalry takes an unexpected turn to friendship, neitherpre-emptsthe complications that would brew. Things are further knotted up when Shanaya Singhania (Alia Bhatt), the most popular girl on the campus enters the equation. While Shanaya and Rohan are childhood sweethearts, Abhi’s attraction for his best friend’s girlfriend and Shanaya’squiet reciprocation causes a rift in their friendship that would have a long lasting impact. Looming large over the various friendships in the campus is the Student Of The year trophy and Dean YogendraVasisht’s (Rishi Kapoor) emphasis on success and victory. Towards the end of the term, the foes-turned-friends-turned foes, Abhi and Rohan, are ready for a face-off and battle lines are drawn through the length and breadth of the campus, with only one goal in everyone’s eyes - Student Of The Year Trophy. As new ambitions are born and old loyalties fall by the wayside, each segment of the Student Of The Year competition manages to tear apart both, the participants and the spectators,to redefine the choices of the three protagonists.
What will Abhimanyu choose? Victory or Friendship?
What willRohan choose?Victory or Dreams?
What will Shanaya choose?Victory or Emotions?