Student Of The Year Review

STUDENT OF THE YEAR is a Hindi feature film which was one of the most awaited films of this year. It released today i.e. on 19th October, 2012. It is a romantic comedy film directed by Karan Johar and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Gauri Khan under the banners of Dharma Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment. So with the film STUDENT OF THE YEAR does Karan deserve to be the DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR? Read the review ahead.

Story : Its story is very simple. Rohan Nanda (Varun Dhawan) is the son of a business tycoon Ram Kapoor. He studies in St. Teresa and is the boyfriend of Shanaya Singhania (Alia Bhatt). Soon Abhimanyu (Siddharth Malhotra) takes admission in that school who belongs to a poor family and whose parents have passed away.

As usual in their first meeting there is a rift created between Rohan & Abhimanyu which soon turns into friendship. Shanaya loves Rohan but Rohan keeps in touch with many girls which hurts Shanaya. This brings her closer to Abhimanyu.

Initially Ahimanyu plays a game to bring Shanaya & Rohan together but it appears to Shanaya that he had fallen in love with her.

Again due to some misunderstandings (the root cause is of course Shanaya) a rift occurs between both the friends and they both want to defeat each other in the competition of the 'Student Of The Year'.

Who wins and above all what does he win and what he loses is portrayed in the remaining part of the film in a very interesting and gripping manner.

Performances : Siddharth Malhotra as Abhimanyu Singh is brilliant. His expressions are great. In terms of physical fitness also he is very good. He is surely going to be a big star one day if he gets proper script. Varun Dhawan as Rohan has also performed well. Alia Bhatt as Shanaya Singhania looks glamorous and pretty. In a few scenes she looked very beautiful and hot. However, she lacks something in her acting skills. She needs to sharpen her acting skills and facial expressions. Rishi Kapoor as Yoginder Vasisht has acted very well though his character was not good. Ronit Roy as the coach of the students has justified his role, even though he has got very less footage. Ram Kapoor in the role of Rohan's father looked good.

His acting was impressive though he had to speak only some dialogues. He fitted into the role of business tycoon. Farida Jalal has played the grandmother of Siddharth Malhotra. She had very little to do anything yet she appeared as usual. Sushma Seth too had nothing to do which is worth mentioning here. Akshay Anand in the role of Siddharth's uncle was just okay. Sana Saeed was okay.

Boman Irani, Farah Khan, Kajol are in guest roles. They had nothing worth to do. Yet they looked good and appeared as a bonus packet. Farah Khan & Vaibhvi Merchant appeared as judges and looked good. Boman Irani was just seen sitting with Rishi Kapoor in the stadium and appeared impressive in that small role with just a few dialogues. Kajol appeared for a few seconds in the song 'Disco Diwane'.

Script : Niranjan Iyengar has written its dialogues which are fantastic. Most of the dialogues are powerful and meaningful whereas some of the dialogues are funny too which make you smile. Its screenplay writer is Rensil D'Silva who had written it in a very well manner. The way film goes into transition and is back from transition is superb.

Music : Vishal & Shekhar are the music directors of this film. The songs 'Disco Diwane'is extremely good which has been sung by Benny Dayal, Sunidhi Chauhan and Nazia Hassan (The original singer of this song who had sung years back). 'Ratta Maar' song sung by Vishal Dadlani and Shefali Alvares is also good for students in terms of its lyrics. 'Ishq Wala Love' is average. 'Vele' song appears to be noise when you listen to it (just audio) but when you watch its visuals in the film, it looks good.

Background music is excellent! Its sound effects are very good.

Choreography : There are several choreographers in this film such as Bosco-Caesar, Farah Khan, Vaibhavi Merchant and Remo D'Souza. The choreography of the song 'Disco Diwane' is excellent. Its steps are brilliant. The choreography of 'Radha' song is also good because its steps are according to the song. Other songs such as 'Vele' etc. are also choreographed well.

Other Technical Aspects : Editing is done by Deepa Bhatia which is very good. But what is of top class is its cinematography by Ayananka Bose. The DOP has done brilliant job in terms of lightening and lens uses. The DOP has made the shots look lavish and glamorous.

Direction : Karan Johar has directed many hit films in the past. But this film is just extraordinary in terms of its direction. With all newcomers in the lead roles, he has done excellent direction. His shots are excellent. In fact his direction is of TOP NOTCH! He has paid attention to all aspects such as glamour, emotions, fun, drama close ups, long shots etc. in equal proportions.

He has also kept the suspense and thrill level at a very high level and as you approach towards the climax, you continue getting thrilled and remain hooked at your seat.

He could have got 5 out of 5 marks for his direction but he made a mistake of creating a gay character which was not needed and which reduced the taste of this dish!

However, everything else still remains at the top notch and if he gets the title of 'THE DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR' it would not be wrong!

Plus Points : Superb Direction; There is a lot of freshness in the film; High Class Performance of Siddharth Malhotra; Alia Bhatt's Glamour & Beauty; Music (Disco Diwane)

Minus Points : Unnecessarily Rishi Kapoor Characterized As Gay

Conclusion : This is a film on friendship; a film on love triangle which has been seen many times in the past. But its presentation is so different that you will like it very much. You may remember the start of 3 IDIOTS in which one friend invites all past friends to gather at one place or when there is competition of cycle race, you may remember Aamir Khan's 'JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDER' but despite all old elements you will find them presented in a new way which you will like.

This film is just not about winning the trophy of 'Student of The Year' but this film is about friendship & love!

Box Office Prediction : Even though there is no big star in this film (all fresh faces) this film will become Super-Duper Hit or A Blockbuster!

Overall Review : Karan Johar has launched these 3 fresh faces such as Siddhrath Malhotra, Varun Dhawan & Alia Bhatt as any father launches his son or daughter. He has left no stone unturned to make this film look lavish and beautiful. It clearly seems that he has spent a lot of money on new faces. People usually spend so much money either on their own children or big stars. But so is not the case with Karan Johar. And he has succeeded in launching these three and has given them a big platform.

These three have become stars now!

Verdict : A Fresh Film Full Of Emotion, Drama, Fun & Romance! A Must Watch Film!