Finally we all get to see a Karan Johar's movie after a gap of 3 long years. His last directed movie was My Name is Khan in the year 2009. Student of the year is slightly different from all his previous movies as the movie is neither over melodramatic nor does this make you cry or is too intense. This is more fun and more entertainment. So how does the movie look like. Well , there is a school called ST Teresa in Dehradun which has a combination of super rich teens as well as middle class folks. No, the movie is not about the melting pot of the rich and the poor but is more about the friendship , infatuation, affection, love , jealousy and competitiveness. The school is managed by Rishi Kapoor who is a dean and is a gay. He has really evolved as an actor in all his last movies and he plays the role perfectly as he drools over the hunk sports coach played by Ronit Roy. The school is funded by a mean business man played by Ram Kapoor whose son , Rohan Nanda played by dubutant Varun Dhawan also studies there and comes to school in a Ferrari. He is a rich brat who wants to be a Rockstar than run business like his his father and brother. He has an equally rich designer girlfriend Shanaya Singhania, the role essayed by Alia Bhatt. A young guy Abhimanyu Singh played by Sidharth Malhotra from a middle class enters the college on a sports quota and dreams of becoming even bigger than the businessman Ram Kapoor. The film has lots of fun quotient as these young teens play around prank with each other , become friends and share the happiness and sadness together. They go to the parties , have drink, share a smoke and visit hospitals, go to each other homes for meals etc.
What gets the fim running till the end is to win the coveted trophy of " Student of The Year" award which offers an all expense paid scholarships in an IVY league university in the United States of America. Every teen in the school aspires for this trophy and the competitiveness sneaks in the minds of friends as gradually all the friends become enemy of each other. In between there is love confusion drama between the three main stars of the movie - Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt. So , the trophy becomes the bone of contention. Who wins the "Student of the year" award is a kind of guess work but for me the best part of this competition was the speech given by one of the fat Parsi student , Kaizad popularly called as Sudoow in the film after drinking an Old Monk Rum quarter. He challenges the whole concept of the trophy and forces the Dean to face the truth of his life. The direction is gala with opulence and one can understand the film making style of the ususal Karan Johar. However , the film often reminds of the mixing of many hit movies in the Karan Johar's production lab. The story telling is copied from Jaane Tu Ya Janne Na, the competition is lifted from Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikander and the 40 min weeding drama is a modern day sexy avtaar of the entertaining shadi of last decade, Hum Aapke Hai Kaun . The film also has remixes of old Hindi movie hit songs like Disco Deewane and Gulabi Aankhen jo teri dekhi. But one can forget these similarities and can enjoy the movie as its full of fun and entertainment. The songs and dances are good ( Kajol steals the dance show for 2 minutes ) and one doesnt feel boared even though the movie is slightly longer by 15-20 minutes. Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra have a good body and justify their role , though Sidharth Malhotra doesnt actually look like a teen age guy. Alia Bhatt looks cute and even dons a Bikni in her first movie and also gives a smooch scene with one of the actors. Rishi Kapoor is excellent as a dean , Farida Jalal as the grand mother of Sidharth Malohtra leaves her impact in a small role. However, I wished Boman Irani as a Sardar and the dean of a rival school had a slightly larger role. This movie is not a must watch but a fun watch , as in the words of the Dirty picture " Cinema is all about Entertainment Entertainment and Entertainment !!! My Rating - 3/5
