STUDENT OF THE YEAR 2 (SOTY 2 ) move review is here. Released today, the movie is a sequel to the 2012 super hit STUDENT OF THE YEAR that introduced today’s heartthrobs – Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt. The sequel stars Tiger Shroff and introduces Tara Sutaria and Ananya Panday. SOTY 2 is helmed by Punit Malhotra. Does SOTY 2 is able to create the magic dobaaara. Find out in STUDENT OF THE YEAR 2 movie review.
Immediate reaction when the end credits roll
Bedard sequel ke zamane ne mera dil tod diya.. I have just seen the most compromised and utterly mediocre version of my all time favourite JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDAR, a date with Mansoor Khan’s iconic cult gem in 1992 with candy gloss and what not of Dharma Productions – SOTY2 is a nightmare on the picturesque Dehradun/Mussoorie streets.
Best moment
When Will Smith joins the bandwagon and shakes a leg to the iconic RD Burman’s yeh jawaani hai deewani – the song is coming from nowhere in the movie and so is Will Smith but still the moment is electrifying. It clearly underlines the difference between a master and a pupil.
Worst moment
Will Smith leaves within a minute.. the flash of hope that this trauma might get reduced caused due to the writing of this script by Arshad Sayed which is on ventilator since birth. What was the purpose of this cameo by Will Smith?, why did he left suddenly.
The story of STUDENT OF THE YEAR 2 (SOTY 2 )
In 1992 came JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDAR, in 2012 came STUDENT OF THE YEAR, things have drastically changed since then but which era is this SOTY 2?. Rohan (Tiger) a student, athlete, dancer, kabaddi player from the local Pishorilal Chamandas College is head over heels in love with his childhood sweetheart, Mia(Tara Sutaria ). After school, Tara takes admission in the posh affluent St Teresa College. Rohan follows her and gets admission in the same college thanks to his sports scholarship. In one scene Mia asks Rohan and I got a flash of Amitabh Bachchan’s DEEWAR it goes like this – mere papa ke pass toh do chaar petrol pump hai, tumhare pass kya hai, pat comes the reply from Rohan – mere pass sports scholarship hai”. Super how innocently the writer and director had highlighted the ‘class’ divide. Lets move further.. Rohan aspires to win the ‘Student Of The Year’ trophy by winning the Inter-College Dignity Cup. Rohan meets a spoilt brat Shreya (Ananya Pandey) and his champion brother Manav (Aditya Seal) who has won the trophy twice and is set for a hat – trick for St Teresa. Sabse aage ladke kaun rajput, rajput ( eeek, sorry coming back). Rest is how the local garib Rohan gets over the aamir bapp ka talented but arrogant and egoist beta Manav to snatch the Student Of The Year trophy by winning the competition that involves, athletics, dancing and kabbadi. Sorry no cycle race otherwise it would have been too obvious and the copyright thing is very sensitive in tinsel town.
Tiger Shroff
The amazing Tiger Shroff gives whatever he has to save this one from becoming the blunder of the season and succeeds to an extent. Tiger – the Bollywood answer to Jackie Chan, Jet Lee and MJ in a way deserves much much better. Tiger doesn,t disappoint at all while the movie fails terribly.
Debut of Tara Sutaria
Tara Sutaria this odd version of Pooja Bedi’s character in JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDAR – the gold-digger but with a twist is pale and emotionless, just a good looking doll. Ironically, the girl serves as a perfect metaphor of what SOFTY 2 is all about.
Debut of Ananya Pandey
Ananya Pandey is a find, bubbly, charming and raw. Ananya can gloom if groomed properly.
Making – direction, writing
What was in the mind of writer Arshad Sayed and director Punit Malhotra? A tribute to JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDAR in the known Dharma way?, then why don,t you say. SOTY 2 is beautiful but so empty, soulless and loud. It’s a nasty parody of JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDAR this may not have been the intention but it has unfortunately landed in such a way. The movie tries hard to make sense of its characters but fails and gets more and more preposterous after every reel as it tries to justify the title and its premise. Punit Malhotra has to think something seriously for his revival.
Performance of other actors
Aditya Seal is good and has in him. Samir Soni is reduced to a caricature and it feels bad. Gul Panag is completely wasted. From the side kicks, Harsh Beniwal has his moments.
Music
Vishal-Shekhar are completely out of touch, they killed the iconic Rd Burman’s Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, and none of the other numbers make any impact. Sheer waste.
Final words
All said and done, if you have loved JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDAR and or SOTY more than Tiger Shroff then choice is yours. Going for a generous 2 star an extra for Tiger.