Movie review: Student of the year, Siddharth overshadows Alia, Varun

New Delhi, Oct 19: School and college hours are what we enjoy most in our life. Bunking classes, flirting with girls/boys(depending on your gender), partying, clubbing, impressing the other sex with hot wheels, carrying all that fashion which keeps one in focus, imitating teachers' actions and other stuff are the hallmarks of school and college life.Onscreen we have witnessed all these ingredients in numerous films -- ‘Jo jeeta Wahin Sikander', Kuch Kuch hota Hai, Mohabbatein, Kabhi Kushi Kabh Gham, Main Hoon Na, 3 Idiots, and all these stood up to expectations. And now, Karan Johar after a gap of three years sits in the Director's chair and poses the question: who will be the “Student of the Year”? It's his first venture without the predictable trio---SRK, Kajol and Rani Mukherjee. The other trio this time is --- Sidhart Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt.The story is about Abhimanyu Singh and Rohan Nanda played by Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan respectively. Abhi comes from a middle class family and wants to fly high in his life and ‘Student of the year' trophy will give him wings to fly. While Rohan is the son of a big industrialist played by Ram Kapoor but has a complex relationship with him. Winning the “SOTY” trophy will give him the approval he subconsciously desires for.Now the trophy is at stake triggering a competitive environment among students. But the two are the only students who claim to be the toughest competitors in the whole campus. They clash in canteens, football ground and at other platforms. Somehow the duo becomes good pals until the Barbie doll of the school, Shanaya enters the scene. Born with a silver spoon, the high heel and fashionable Shanaya slays every guy of the school.Most importantly she is a childhood friend of Rohan and now she is his girlfriend. But Abhi's attraction towards his friend's girlfriend brings a conflict into their friendship and Rohan and Abhi again become rivals. With the competition beginning, the battle lines are drawn for the main event. Who will triumph with the SOTY trophy, is a question answered in the last minutes of the film. The flick is colourful with beautiful locations, as what one expects from a Karan Johar drama. Boys and girls matching their steps at each interval and too many dance numbers to keep you entertained. But do we really witness these happenings in our schools and colleges?We are informed in the beginning of the flick that St. Teresa's school is a highly disciplined one in town and has students from posh backgrounds. Here a middle class Abhimanyu enters the campus and befriends the highly wealthy and arrogant Rohan. Further every male relation is given a ‘Dostana' connection; only to add more unnecessary humour.The last minutes will remind you of ‘Jo Jeeta Wahin Sikander' finale racing clash. The message is not new, but it is conveyed loud and clear to fill you with motivation.The three stars are really brilliant with their performances. Alia Bhatt will remind you of Poo from ‘K3G', Varun Dhawan flexes a lot of muscles while Sidharth Malhotra stands above all with great acting skills. Rishi Kapoor as college Principal appears good. The transformation from a baddie in Agneepath to a gay in SOTY is appreciable. While Ram Kapoor, Ronit Roy, Maninee De Mishra, Farida Jalal, Prachi Shah, Sushma Seth, Akshay Anand, all lend adequate support. Boman Irani appears in a cameo.KJo is best known for pasteurization. From snowy mountains to funky clubs the locales are beautifully captured. Vishal-Shekhar brings out something different for the film and proves out to be a winner with soundtracks like Ishq wala love, Radha, Ratta Maar, while Disco Deewane is a treat to watch with Kajol making a special appearance in the song.I'll go ***/5 stars for KJO's youthful “Student of the year”. the film will definitely pull in the youths and those who are already past their age may want to revisit their past.