Although the Khans and Kapoors continue to rule Bollywood, the trend is now shifting towards hiring newcomers, who not only are much easily available, but are also a great bargain as compared to their more established counterparts.
And if these newcomers can bring you success at the box-office, they’re sure a great deal. The industry big-wigs have started realizing that putting their money on a newbie may be a great idea. Even the illustrious Karan Johar, who has proudly proclaimed in the past that he prefers to work only with the stars, opted to work with amateur actors in his much-talked-about “Student of the Year.”
The prestigious director known for his ‘larger than life’ movies, has just released his latest flick, in which 3 newcomers are making their silver-screen debut. As a director, this is his 5th film. His four previous attempts at directing—’Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’, ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’ and ‘My Name Is Khan’—all brought great returns at the box office, and going by the response so far, it seems that the newcomers are able to draw good crowds too.
Now, on another thought, over the past few years it has been noted that the public now prefers good scripts over big stars, unless, ofcourse, the name is Salmaan Khan.
Karan Johar may be used to dealing with the celebrity-tantrums, but SOTY presented him with an unusual challenge as he was working with newcomers for the first time in his small, but super-successful streak as a director. But the man, well known to create magic with his work, took this challenge quite well and seems to have created a great film again. Prior to the release of this film, he told the reporters that he is “more excited than nervous” about the new movie.
Karan, who has worked with some of the legends of the film industry, explains the difference between the two. He summarizes: “Working with stars thrills me, but this challenges me.”
Who Are These Lucky Newcomers?
The newcomers, who got their first break with the famed Karan Johar, weren’t really alien to showbiz. The film features Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, and Siddharth Malhotra in lead roles with Rishi Kapoor as the chairman of the school they all go to, and special appearances from Kajol, Boman Irani, and Farah Khan. Alia is the daughter of producer-director Mahesh Bhatt, and her first love-interest in the movie is played by Varun Dhawan, the son of film director David Dhawan. While these two have a Bollywood background, Siddharth has made it to the industry all by himself.
Although Karan is confident of “his students’” talent, he is hoping they manage an applause from the audience too. “This is the first time I’m working with newcomers. I hope all three of them— Siddharth, Varun, and Aliya— turn out well,” he said. “I feel they’ve got humongous talent. But that could just be a proud parent’s opinion. Next summer, I hope the audience discovers them to be as talented as I did.”
Well, the story isn’t all that commanding; it is merely a love triangle between Shanaya Singhania (Alia Bhatt), Rohan Nanda (Varun Dhawan), and Abhimanyu Singh (Siddharth Malhotra), set in a high-profile school in Dehradun. Of course, as the title suggests, there is the coveted “Student of the Year” trophy, which has the two boys locking horns over a series of physical and mental tests, besides their battle over Shanaya’s love.
The film has made a good opening both domestically and overseas. On the opening day, it reportedly registered 100% occupancy all across the country at multiplexes as well as single screen theatres.
Going by the early reports, it seems that Karan’s risk is going to be rewarded. Taran Adarsh, a well known Hindi Film critic, has suggested that the film be dubbed the “Surprise of the Year.” According to veteran filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt, this film may change the landscape of the Indian film Industry. He says “It is a blockbuster. If you have to give the trophy to someone, it has to be Karan Johar.”
While Karan’s efforts are being lauded in most parts of the country, controversies have sprung up from a few. SOTY’s popular song “Radha” has apparently infuriated the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) because it refers to her as “sexy”. Claiming to protect the sentiments of the followers of Lord Krishna, the HJS, while protesting in Panaji, demanded that the Censor Board ban the movie for such a derogatory reference to the holy figure.
However, no action has been taken so far, and going by the cliché “any publicity is good publicity.” I don’t think Karan Johar is losing sleep yet.