Student of the Year Review
Classification: 3/5 stars (three stars)
cast of stars: Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Rishi Kapoor, Ram Kapoor, Ronit
Roy, Kajol (special appearance).
What is good : the locations, the costumes, the direction, the humor with a Youngistani language
What is bad: songs not required, plot not so believable
bathroom break: for 1 or 2 songs
To watch or not: You certainly don’t want to miss this movie if you like commercial movies, typically Bollywood and can digest a clichéd story once again, only in a high-budget, stylized avatar.
Karan Johar this time serves you the same old coffee in a new cup. High school friends who become jealous and ambitious from the desire to win a competition has been a proven script in Bollywood for a long time. But the director makes sure the film is an audio-visual delight for the audience by successfully including picturesque locations, designer costumes and the language of today’s Youngistan.
Rohan (Varun Dhawan), a spoiled rich brat, plays with his weight at school when Abhimanyu (Sidharth Malhotra), an ambitious, hard-working, small-town boy, poses as a potential threat.
With some scenes depicting Shanaya (Alia Bhatt), a brand-conscious rich girl trying to win back love from her relationship with Rohan, the film’s plot revolves mainly around how best friends become enemies, and one tries to win the title of ‘Student of the Year’ to succeed in life and the other to show his father that he is no longer his good-for-nothing son.
Student of the Year Review: Script Analysis
The script has nothing new to offer and is very predictable. Though decorated with characters like a gay dean (Rishi Kapoor), the script lacks the freshness expected from Bollywood stars like Karan Johar. This, combined with the plot of a 5-star school with world-class facilities and casually dressed students, made the script more difficult to digest.
Student of the Year Review: Stellar Performances
Long story short, Varun Dhawan brings the dance moves, Sidharth Malhotra shows off his acting chops and oh my! Alia Bhatt hardly has any dialogue to her credit. She comes off as a Barbie doll with an average performance. The other actors like Ronit Roy, Rishi Kapoor and a handful of students from the school added a lot of value to this movie. The three actors have a good opportunity to show off their attractive and enviable bodies on the screen.
Student of the Year Review: Direction, Music and Technical Aspects
One thing that will surely not disappoint you is the address. Karan Johar has lived up to his expectations once again. Music-wise, the USP of this movie is to use a lot of old Bollywood songs throughout the movie, at various points. Although the lyrics of ‘Ishq Wala Love’ made people raise an eyebrow, the rest of the catchy and upbeat tracks are entertaining. It’s worth appreciating the narrative adopted, with swooning students telling the story, along with the script.
Student of the Year Review: The Last Word
Take heart, if you put style before substance. Yet another commercial entertainer, with a big budget, new faces and entertainment.
