SOTY MOVIE REVIEWS THREAD ONLY - Page 4

To sum it up, watch 'Student Of The Year' for the debutantes. They have really pulled off a tough task of playing praiseworthy roles in a film which suffers from the lack-of-a-story syndrome.

40

Not Recommended

Johar's leading men and the leading lady have been employed for enough of unnecessary, so-called aesthetically well put up, skin show, and the director hesitates in showing some restrain. You can't help giggle when you see the boys emerging out of the sea in their teeny-weeny boxers with camera hovering over their torso – almost greedily – capturing every detail of their bod. It's one thing to see John Abraham pulling his trunks beyond permissible limit to create a frenzy, but quite another to see Varun Dhawan flashing his butt crack as he comes out of the pool after a refreshing swimming section. Karan has definitely failed to ask the most critical question here – why?

40

Not Recommended

The interest now moves on to the three debutants. All three give a confident performance, including Kayoze Irani (Boman Irani's son), who too is making his debut. His role, however, is badly structured and within the limitations, he does well.

Alia Bhatt has that 'X' factor which will take her places. There's not much of a scope performance wise, but given the scenes, she looks glamorous when she has too and also emotes reasonably well.

40

Not Recommended

With three big debutantes in the movie, it is a bit difficult to pick and choose, but my vote goes for Sidharth Malhotra as Abhimanyu. He's the sweet charming boy who steals your heart with his sighs. Varun Dhawan does very well as the spoilt brat but there are a few places where he needs to buck up. Alia Bhatt ends up with a very dumb-blonde role who has to do standard ramp poses for the camera but she performs ably. Undoubtedly, Varun is the best dancer among all three.

50

Average Movie

Even though SOTY is a high-school drama, at no point in the film does Karan offend the audiences intelligence. Every scene in the film engrosses you. Though he takes familiar material, it's his modern take that makes SOTY a special film.

Among the performances, Sidharth, Varun and Alia do their best not to seem like newcomers and they emerge triumphant. Sidharth's restraint is impressive. Varun is charming; his brilliant dancing skills deserve a special mention. And Alia definitely has what it takes to be a star. The three make confident debuts.

80

Recommended

Treatment is Karan Johar's forte and it is what makes his first film with rank newcomers, despite the absence of a logical plot, so fresh and zany. Unlike KKHH, which had the advantage of two superstars and one dazzling aspirant, neither of SOTY's three key players are seasoned actors. Incisive as he is, the filmmaker is well aware of the strengths and limitations of his inexperienced cast, concealing their inadequacies to imply that strange allure of rawness while drawing on their eager energy to convey a refreshing charm.

60

Recommended

Student Of The Year is an updated rehash of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, the mushy love triangle that KJo made his directorial debut with a decade and a half ago. To tailor it for the times, he throws in mild twists (including stale gay gags borrowed from Dostana and the like) for good measure.

That is Student Of The Year for you. It definitely isn't the film of the year. But if you like your entertainment to be served up with glitzy but pulpy garnishing, pirouette your way to the nearest screen by all means. If you don't, go for it only if your life depends on it.

50

Average Movie

K Jo has done a marvelous job when it comes to grooming these three debutants in their acting skills. Though Alia has very little role to play, with all the attention on the leading boys. She leaves a mark with her glamorous presence. K Jo does a fab job in presenting her as a doll. Varun shines throughout the movie with a very a resilient performance. His dancing skills are commendable. Malhotra too has done an extremely good job and his presence is strongly felt throughout the film.

50

Average Movie

You can tell how good the director is with choreographing moments from a beautiful sequence, right before the interval, when the two boys and the girl are at a wedding, there's a lilting background score, no dialogue, and the whole story gets revealed merely with eye contact: the girl is in love with the new boy! Sadly the film hardly lives up to that wonderfully subtle moment. I guess, you need to suddenly break into half a dozen songs and music videos to ensure a full-on, old-world Bollywood soundtrack, and as many random scenes to guarantee the hit of the year. The drama has to be mawkish. If you tone anything down, I suppose, you'll lose the big bucks. The insecurities show.

40

Not Recommended

This is the first time that Karan has stepped out of his comfort zone and worked with debut actors. Varun Dhawan and Siddharth Malhotra not only have gorgeous bodies but also have enough acting talent to make their presence felt. Going by the audience reaction, Siddharth has definitely garnered a huge female fan following in his very first film. As far as the looks are concerned, KJo had definitely prepped his cast well. Alia Bhatt might have shed the extra fat but her acting still needs a lot of work.

70

Recommended

The trouble with 'Student Of The Year' is that it doesn't even feel as if it is trying for novelty, despite the brand-new talent it showcases. Not one of the three main leads fully breaks out of the 'types' they are assigned, even if you can see they have been schooled hard for their parts : the swimwear rounds are most impressive, the abs are washboard, the skin glistens, and they are all very glossy to match their environs, but the acting chops are slender. Of the three, Malhotra fares best, and Bhatt wears her clothes well, but none of them have zing. The supporting cast is better : I liked the overweight fellow with the glasses (Kayoze Irani, Boman's son) who's given a nice little blow-out scene in the end

Our Films

Pass class

Student of the Year

Rating:

October 19, 2012

Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Rishi Kapoor, Ronit Roy, Ram Kapoor

Director: Karan Johar

The hardest job on a Karan Johar film set must belong to the cleaners, who I imagine spend most of the day on their knees scrubbing floors, dusting furniture, and basically making sure everything is spotless. The director's new film, Student of the Year, is set on an impossibly chic campus where good-looking teenagers are invariably breaking into song or breaking into fights. Yet you'll never spot a carelessly strewn cola can or even a stray sheet of paper lying around in the corridors or in the canteen. Oh those poor cleaners!

At St Teresa High School in Dehradun (think that Riverdale-like setting of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, only swankier), trust fund brat Rohan (Varun Dhawan) is the coolest kid with all the hottest toys – a flaming red Ferrari, designer togs, and the prettiest girl in school, Shanaya (Alia Bhatt). That is, until Abhimanyu (Sidharth Malhotra) roars in on his bike. He's the one with modest means – which is relative in a Karan Johar movie, because while Abhi's family may not have enough makhan for their parathas, he can still afford the brands. After the typical teething troubles, the two boys become fast friends despite their drastically different ambitions.

What tests their friendship is the Student of the Year competition, an annual event devised by the school's gay dean Yogendra Vashisht (Rishi Kapoor) to pick the one student who will land a full scholarship to an Ivy League college. Typically, however, it's the girl…or rather their ishq wala love for Shanaya that drives a wedge between the friends.

Unapologetically aspirational, wearing its pedigree on its sleeve, Student of the Year plays out in a Gossip Girl-like universe, where feelings are surface-level and everyone's a frenemy. The rich kids live it up extravagantly, while the rest (and even their families) aspire for membership into this exclusive club. In Johar's world, clearly your biggest crime is being poor. This is the kind of world where the rich kid's obnoxious dad flies half the campus to Thailand on his private jet to attend his son's marriage.

But it's also true that Student of the Year doesn't ask to be taken seriously. This is Johar's "holiday movie"; intended to show you a good time. So you have Glee-style introductions to the three leads in snazzily choreographed set pieces, a soundtrack of bubblegum hits, crisply edited sporting sequences, and outrageous humor like a track involving the dean's crush on a strapping (and married) football coach.

Johar's secondary players may come off as stereotypes on paper – the rich kid's chamcha, the heroine's nerdy best friend, the fat boy everyone makes fun of, and the opportunistic girl who makes a play for someone else's boyfriend – but more than likely you'll find traces of yourself or your friends in each of them. And therein lies the film's secret weapon – look beyond the shiny classrooms and the sun-kissed Thai beaches, the brightly lit song sequences and the repeated shirtless shots of our heroes…and there's heart to be found, particularly in the film's second half when Rohan and Abhi truly lean on each other.

Karan Johar displays his trademark flair for light-hearted laughs and prettified emotions, capturing a world he knows inside out. This is the most extravagant launch any newcomer could have asked for. Good for them, Johar doesn't know how to do things small.

The debutants, in turn, put their best foot forward: Sidharth Malhotra is earnest and has a pleasing presence, while Alia Bhatt is cute as the clueless Shanaya, if a little raw. It's Varun Dhawan who stands out with a confident, charming turn, able to tackle both comical and vulnerable scenes with ease. Yet if there's a performance that glues together this film, it's Rishi Kapoor's. He never flinches in an unusual role, playing the part for laughs yet also infusing soul into what could have so easily turned into a caricature.

Too long by about twenty minutes, the film could've done with some tightening – perhaps the clunky treasure hunt sequence could go? Nitpickings aside, this is a breezy, enjoyable film by a director who knows his craft.

I'm going with three out of five for Karan Johar's Student of the Year. If fun is what you're seeking, you won't be disappointed.

(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)