Slideshow ( 7 images ) Much like its 2012 predecessor, Punit Malhotra’s “Student of the Year 2” has hardly any bearing on reality. The film is set in an alternate world that bears no resemblance to any college or school in India. This is a world where looks reign supreme, while talent counts for nothing and hard work matters when it comes to pumping iron in the gym. The girls look like blown-up versions of Barbie dolls, with their straight hair and their perfectly made-up faces bereft of expression, while the male lead is depicted as an all-achieving superhuman who can do no wrong. This is a film where 5-year-olds are obsessed with getting six-pack abs and boys wouldn’t dream of riding pink bikes – a film where regressive and traditional masculine and feminine roles are reinforced. “Student of the Year 2” is unabashedly a film about pretty people pretending to have problems, and solving them, but even this is done in such a banal manner that it hardly manages to entertain. Rohan (Tiger Shroff) is a boy from a middle-class family who wants to get into the swanky college that his sweetheart, Mia (Tara Sutaria), goes to. When he finally gets in, on a scholarship, Rohan finds that the walls of the college contain a world that is completely different from the one he is used to. Mia is a changed girl, and the college jock, Manav (Aditya Seal), and his spoiled brat of a sister, Shreya (Ananya Pandey), are out to ruin what Rohan thought would be a dream come true. The only way Rohan can show them up and regain his confidence is through an inter-school competition called the Dignity Cup. The competition is open only to the boys, while the girls play beaming cheerleaders. Director Malhotra and writer Arshad Syed do not stray from the style of the first film and its sole intention of showcasing perfectly sculpted bodies. Here, story and emotions are perfunctory at best. With his dancing skills and ripped body, Shroff is perfectly suited to the role of Rohan, but there is nothing in this film that we haven’t seen him do before. A stony-faced Tara Sutaria comes off as too self-conscious in her attempt to play Mia. It is Ananya Pandey who stands out among what is otherwise a mediocre cast. As Shreya, she displays some spunk and life, and is the best thing about this film.<doc-sep>‘SOTY 2’ mixes ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar’ with ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ but loses its own self on the way Watching films like Student of the Year 2 should come with a statutory warning: that it is extremely injurious to the health of senior citizen critics like yours truly. The film doesn’t just make you acutely conscious of the fact that you have one foot in the grave but builds up this larger existential crisis—how like the mummy papa, chachi chacha, principal, teachers and coaches on screen you see are almost redundant in the larger scheme of things of the post-millenials. Other than the young friends and collegemates, no one else is of any consequence in the film; everyone above 20 is shoved to the periphery—either a prop-like presence (coach Manoj Pahwa) or a convenient stereotype (principal Sameer Soni). But then hasn’t every new teen rom-com on the block done this to the previous generation? Didn’t this happen two decades ago as well, when Kuch Kuch Hota Hai turned fantasy, aspirational colleges into a legitimate setting and campus capers as a winning formula? A formula that was ably taken forward by Student of the Year. So there is Mia (Tara Sutaria) who holds forth on growing up and evolving but as a veteran viewer you know that the more things change, the more they remain the same. “We are young and we are crazy” line might get added in the remix of Ye jawani hai deewani but it is still the old classic that is making them spin. Student of the Year 2 Director: Punit Malhotra Starring: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal, Manoj Pahwa, Samir Soni, Gul Panag Storyline: Underdog, middle class Pishorilal College has to get the better of the rich and privileged St Teresa by winning the intercollegiate Dignity Cup Run time: 145 minutes Despite the fresh, young faces at the centre, a staleness looms large over SOTY2. The same old fairytale castle for college building (despite being set in Dehradun/Mussorie), the same old triangle—Archie with Betty and Veronica vying for his attention. In this case there is Rohan (Tiger Shroff) with Mia (Tara Sutaria) and Shreya (Ananya Pandey) for company. The same candyfloss lives, designer clothes with newer, fancier labels and omnipresent pom pom girls, irrespective of whether any crucial game is being played or not. College life is all about having fun with a gang of friends, having a romantic interest and rivalry with another gang. The students play, dance, visit night clubs but, in the time-honoured tradition of mainstream Hindi films, they never study; all they learn is to distinguish between being in love and being in friendship. To be fair SOTY2 tries to be a little different, by adding a little Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar to K2H2. The poor “Pishorilal ka fukra” gets pitched against the “St Teresa dude” in the game of kabaddi, in much the same way as Model had a face off with Rajput in a cycle race in JJWS. But caught between two cult films, SOTY2 isn’t able to acquire a personality of its own. Sutaria has poise, despite all the plastic packaging; Pandey who is irritatingly ditzy to start with, manages to strike some likeable notes. But the film clearly tries to draw from and make the most of Tiger’s appeal amongst Generation Z—so he dances, shows off his muscles, runs races, plays kabaddi and fights the roguish collegemates. All of this, while looking oddly tired and disinterested. And if it’s the modern, can the traditional remain far behind? In the name of being ambitious, a young girl like Mia is made to come across as stupid and flighty. “I want to make my own life than be someone else’s life,” she says and you know right there that in the modern conservatism of the film’s world, she will regret it later. Eventually, the only million rupee question the film left me with—will kabaddi now become cool?<doc-sep>Student of the Year 2 showed decent growth on the second day as Rs. 14.02 crores more came in. The first day numbers were Rs. 12.06 crores and as long as the number go upwards, it is always a positive sign. The growth was also on the cards since Friday evening and night shows were impacted by IPL, and hence there was an audience that caught up with the film on Saturday. Of course, had the jump been even bigger then it would have spelt further good news for all involved with the film. However, given the kind of trolling it had faced en route release and the fact that critics too had mixed reactions meant the core challenge for the Punit Malhotra directed film was to at least sustain itself. In that aspect, the Tiger Shroff, Ananya Panday and Tara Sutaria starrer has actually done well enough to keep its head high and show positive momentum on its second day, which sets the stage for Sunday collections. It would be interesting to see how this Dharma Productions affair goes from here after a Rs. 26.08 crores total since there are IPL finals tonight and that would mean a chunk of evening and night shows getting impacted. Moreover, there are also elections in some parts of the country up North due to which certain theaters are closed, hence impacting the morning and afternoon shows. As long as the film can come close to the Saturday collections on Sunday as well, it would be good enough hold for Student of the Year 2, hence setting the stage for eventful weekdays ahead.<doc-sep>Back in the 80s and the 90s, Chunky Pandey was a name to reckon with. With multiple 'masala' successes in his kitty, he did a plethora of films at a rapid pace. Though he stopped doing leading man roles by the time his daughter Ananya was born in 1999, he has forayed into the world of web series while being a regular as 'Aakhri Pasta' in Housefull franchise. Now that his daughter is making her much hyped big screen debut with Karan Johar and Punit Malhotra's Student of the Year 2, he is all excited to check out what the newcomer has to offer. "For my parents, this whole thing is so surreal," says Ananya, The moment promo of Student of the Year 2 came out, they downloaded it and must have watched it like every hour of the day. That said, when the film was being made, they just let me be. My dad never even once came on the sets while my mom came on just the first day. In fact till the film was ready for early screening this week, they hadn't even seen the rushes." It is pretty much expected that being brought up in a filmy atmosphere would have led to quite a few talks around her career would be launched. "You know, people ask me that what sort of advice my dad gave me during my growing up years. Also, so many of them think that I must have had this glamorous life. Guess what, it was never like that. I had a regular upbringing where I went to school and all. I was never on the sets of my dad's films when I was younger," remembers Ananya. The fact also remains that Chunky Pandey was in his prime as an actor before Ananya was born. "Yes, he was a huge star back then and later he started doing a lot of different roles. What I have learnt from my dad is that he hasn't changed either by successes or failures. His behaviour has stayed intact. He is the same jovial person that he always has been," she says. Now that the moment of reckoning has arrived, Ananya is waiting to see audience react to her debut release. "Student of the Year 2 is a film that I would love to go and see in theatres. I couldn't have asked for a better co-star than Tiger Shroff or a set up like that of Dharma. I am so lucky; this is a dream come true," smiles Ananya before signing off. Also Read: 7 Reasons why we welcome Student Of The Year again BOLLYWOOD NEWS Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood News Today & upcoming movies 2020 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.<doc-sep>
Student of the Year 2 Star cast: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Panday, Aditya Seal Rating: Two-and-a-half stars Karan Johar, like many of us from his generation, must have grown up on Archie comics. But while we may have outgrown our adolescent dreams of getting enrolled in Riverdale High kind of a school long ago, he remains hooked on the great American campus fantasy. Apparently inspired by it, his directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) was woven around the characters of Archie, Betty and Veronica. Twenty-one years on, he is still not tired of trying out the same old plot: a triangular romance on an academic institution that looks more like a swanky five-star hotel. Student of the Year 2 (SOTY2), the latest from KJo’s banner Dharma Productions, is another ode to Archie Comics. The same old story, the same old characters and the same old setting, what is, however, new are its fresh faces. Tiger Shroff plays an underdog Archie from a plebeian school who makes it to the upscale St Teresa campus on the sports quota where his childhood sweetheart Tara Sutaria is already studying. On its campus, he meets a rich spoilt girl Ananya Panday and her brother, played by Aditya Seal, who happen to be the children of the school’s trustee. It’s, of course, a story which has been told by Bollywood film-makers numerous times in the past. Hence, if your idea of entertainment is a movie with a fresh storyline which will make you pause and think hard long after you have seen it, SOTY2 is certainly not your cup of tea. But if you don’t mind spending an evening with your family and kids for a fun-filled, bubbly kind of a film, there is no harm in watching it. Performance wise, Tiger Shroff has done well, as expected, in action and dance sequences but he needs to work harder on the romantic scenes. Debutantes Tara Sutaria and Ananya Panday have the requisite screen presence. Both of them look pretty and glamorous in keeping with the demands of the script. Panday, daughter of actor Chunky Panday, in particular, looks promising and so does Aditya Seal, who plays the Riverdale’s Reggie on St Teresa’s imposing campus. But it is not merely a tribute to the Archie Comics. It is also inspired greatly by Mansoor Khan’s 1992 movie Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. However, while the Aamir Khan starrer was all about a cycle race, SOTY2 revolves around our desi sport kabaddi. Still, it is no patch on either Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar or its own 2012 prequel, Student of the Year, which had catapulted Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Siddhartha Malhotra to stardom. Compared to the original which was directed by KJo himself, SOTY2 has a weaker script and screenplay and its director Punit Malhotra has sought to rely too much on the original in its treatment. Right from the word, it reminds the viewers of the first movie from the SOTY franchise. In a nutshell, if you like to see realism and true-to-life characters on screen, SOTY2 is certainly not for you. But if you are game for a typical Bollywood film with lots of fight scenes and colourful song and dance sequences, it will not let you down. All you have to remember is that it is a light-hearted film from Karan Johar’s production house. It’s thankfully, not like his recent dud Kalank (2019), but it is not a Nil Battey Sannata (2015) kind of movie either. For in-depth, objective and more importantly balanced journalism, Click here to subscribe to Outlook Magazine