Alia Bhatt's Debut: Unveiling Facts About "Student of the Year"

Introduction

Alia Bhatt, a British actress of Indian descent, has become a prominent figure in Hindi cinema. Known for portraying women in challenging roles, she has garnered numerous accolades, including a National Film Award and seven Filmfare Awards. Her journey to stardom began with Karan Johar's teen film, "Student of the Year" (2012), where she played her first leading role. This article delves into the facts surrounding Alia Bhatt's involvement in "Student of the Year," exploring the film's production, reception, and impact on her career.

Alia Bhatt: Early Life and Aspirations

Born on March 15, 1993, in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India, Alia Bhatt is the daughter of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and British actress Soni Razdan. She holds British citizenship and comes from a mixed heritage, with her father being of Gujarati descent and her mother of Kashmiri-Pandit and German descent. Alia aspired to act from a young age, realizing her interest while rehearsing for the school choir in kindergarten. She soon began dance lessons at Shiamak Davar's institute.

Casting and Preparation for "Student of the Year"

Alia Bhatt's first leading role came in 2012 with Karan Johar's "Student of the Year," alongside newcomers Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan. She auditioned alongside 500 girls and was cast by Johar on the condition that she lose 16 kg (35 lb), which she did in three months. In the film, she played a sophisticated teenage girl involved in a love triangle.

"Student of the Year": Film Overview

"Student of the Year" is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy-drama film directed by Karan Johar, written by Rensil D'Silva, and produced by Dharma Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment. The film stars debutantes Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan with an ensemble supporting cast consisting of Rishi Kapoor, Ronit Roy, Sahil Anand, Manjot Singh, Ram Kapoor and Farida Jalal, while former child artists Sana Saeed and Kayoze Irani, whose father Boman appears in a brief role, make their screen debuts as adults. The plot revolves around a competition at St. Teresa's College, where students vie for the title of "Student of the Year."

At the esteemed St. Teresa's College, Rohan "Ro" Nanda is the handsome, rich, and popular younger son of its trustee, Ashok Nanda, an influential business tycoon. Ashok dislikes Ro’s passion for music and wants him to become a businessman like his elder son Ajay. Shanaya Singhania, a beautiful, rich, and popular girl at college, is Rohan’s girlfriend and feels dissatisfied with Ro's constant flirtations with her rival Tanya Israni. Abhimanyu "Abhi" Singh, a handsome new student from a middle-class family who idolizes Ashok, soon becomes the college's heartthrob.

Abhi is an orphan whose grandmother is the only person he truly loves. He and Ro initially do not get along but soon become best friends after a football match. Ro introduces him to Shanaya, reminding him not to get involved with her, and Abhi maintains that he is uninterested. At Ajay's wedding, Shanaya sees Ro flirting with Tanya and feels betrayed. She openly flirts with Abhi, who tacitly hints her off to make Ro jealous. Abhi starts falling for Shanaya but keeps his feelings to himself.

Back at the school, the annual Student of the Year competition commences under Dean Yogendra "Yogi" Vashisht. The game rounds are a quiz test, a treasure hunt and a dance battle. Shanaya slowly develops feelings for Abhi over the course of the competition. The trio passes the quiz test and treasure hunt, but before the dance battle, Abhi's grandmother becomes ill and dies. After comforting Abhi, Shanaya and Abhi kiss in a tender moment, which Ro witnesses. Ro & Abhi fight, resulting in a fallout between him, Abhi, and Shanaya.

Following an intense confrontation regarding his future with Ashok back home, Ro becomes determined to win the competition. Shanaya and her best friend Shruti Pathak fall out over the competition, much like Ro and his longtime friend Jeet Khurana after Jeet asks Shanaya to be his dance partner. The final round of the competition is a triathlon consisting of swimming, cycling and long-distance running. Abhi, in the lead, slows down during the end after realizing how important the competition is for Ro, resulting in Ro winning the competition. However, Ro declines to accept the award, citing personal reasons.

After Ro steps down, Yogi is heavily criticised by Ro and Abhi’s mutual friend Kaizad "Sudo" Sodabottleopenerwala, who rants about how the entire concept of the Student of the Year competition has always been rigged. He claims the competition broke their friendship of two years and was unfair to people like him, who were not as popular and attractive as Abhi or Ro. This causes Yogi to retire eventually.

Ten years later, Yogi, terminally ill and on his deathbed, requests to see the students from his last batch. Some arrive to meet him, along with former coach Karan Shah, and hold themselves responsible for the lively Dean's falling ill. Ro is now a rock musician, and Abhi is now an investment banker married to Shanaya. They run into each other when they visit Yogi; in an argument which initially starts off over their shared history and conduct with Shanaya, the two begin releasing the anger they have held back for the last ten years. Ro ultimately reveals he is greatly pissed off at what he considers an intentional move on Abhi's part to lose the triathlon; he reveals that he intentionally allowed him to win after noticing Ashok was happy to see his son losing, and it was his way of surpassing Ashok in stature. While bickering, they end up in a friendly banter, much like in college, and finally reconcile, rekindling their friendship. Yogi apologises to his former students and dies at peace.

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Production and Release

The first official trailer was released on August 2, 2012. Most parts of the film were shot in Kashmir and Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. The external view of the school is that of the Kasiga School, Dehradun. The hospital scenes were filmed outside The Lalit, Grand Palace, Srinagar. Parts of the film were also shot in Thailand.Rob Miller, who had previously worked with Shah Rukh Khan on Chak De! India, served as the stunt director.

Tata Motors, the on-ground promotion partner for the film, launched the 'Nano Student of the Year' contest judging students on academics, culture, sports, and social life. The makers partnered with FedEx Express announcing a special 'FedEx Student Offer' and launch of 'FedEx International Student of the Year' campaign.

"Student of the Year" was released on October 19, 2012, in India and emerged as a commercial success at the box office.

Critical Reception

"Student of the Year" received mixed reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave 4/5 stars and wrote "Student of the Year is a love story that traverses the trodden path. But KJo is an artisan with intellect and taste and he ensures that the script is spruced up and modernized with such elan that it doesn't offend the spectator's wisdom or intelligence." He added, "This is an escapist cinema at its best!

Raita Tandon of Filmfare gave 4/5 stars, stating that the "world is surreal and spectacular yet it has moments that will bring you back to reality and warm the cockles of your heart. Anupama Chopra of Hindustan Times gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Karan Johar's forte is excess. He creates fantastical worlds brimming with beautiful people and expensive things and yet anchors them in high emotion. His films work as both designer-porn and soap-opera." She also praised the performance of the cast.

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Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 2.5/5 stars, commenting that "Student of the Year definitely isn't the film of the year. Ananya Bhattacharya of Zee News gave 2/5 stars, saying that "Student of the Year is worth a watch only for the debutantes. Critics were skeptical over the success of the much-hyped film.

Awards and Nominations

At the 58th Filmfare Awards, "Student of the Year" received 4 nominations including Best Male Debut (Malhotra and Dhawan) and Best Female Debut (Bhatt), and won the R. D. Burman Award for Upcoming Music Talent (Vishal-Shekhar).

Alia Bhatt's Career Trajectory After "Student of the Year"

Dismayed by the critical response to "Student of the Year," Bhatt was keen to play a challenging role. Continuing her collaboration with Johar's company, Dharma Productions, Bhatt starred in the romantic films "2 States" and "Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania" (both 2014). She then took on the part of a poor Bihari migrant in Udta Punjab (2016), a crime drama about substance abuse from writer-director Abhishek Chaubey. The intense role marked a departure from the mostly light-hearted parts she had played before, and in preparation, she watched documentaries on drug abuse and learned to speak a Bihari dialect. Bhatt's performance was critically acclaimed.

Meghna Gulzar's espionage thriller Raazi (2018) starred Bhatt as Sehmat Khan, a Kashmiri spy married to a Pakistani army officer (played by Vicky Kaushal). In the same year, Bhatt took on a brief role in the Telugu-language period film RRR, starring N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan. She next starred as a victim of domestic abuse in the Netflix black comedy film Darlings, which marked her first production venture under her company Eternal Sunshine Productions. Bhatt reunited with Johar for his directorial, the romantic comedy Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023), co-starring Ranveer Singh. Bhatt expanded to American cinema in the same year with Heart of Stone, a Netflix spy film co-starring Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan.

Alia Bhatt's Other Ventures and Recognition

In addition to acting, Bhatt supports various charities and is an investor and prominent brand endorser. She founded an ecological initiative, CoExist, in 2017, a production company, Eternal Sunshine Productions, in 2019, and a sustainable clothing brand, Ed-a-Mamma, in 2022. Bhatt has sung eight of her film songs, including the single "Samjhawan Unplugged" in 2014. Forbes Asia has featured Bhatt in their 30 Under 30 list of 2017 and in their 100 Digital Stars list of 2020. In 2018 and 2019, the Indian edition of GQ featured her among the nation's 50 most influential young people and credited her for "striking a balance between big-budget, all-star blowouts and more script-oriented films.” In 2018, the market research firm YouGov named her India's ninth most influential celebrity. Also in 2022, Time magazine awarded her with the TIME100 Impact Award.

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