What happens when the glam, romantic tropes of Student of the Year change into something gritty, dark, reminding the audience of 13 Reasons Why, and reminding us of Money Heist, thanks to that red coveralls? Student of the Year: After Dark! The trailer for Shanaya Kapoor's web debut dropped today, and netizens have mixed reviews.
The first Student of the Year film, directed by Karan Johar, was released in 2012 and marked the debut of Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra. The second film, directed by Punit Malhotra and released in 2019, marked the debut of Ananya Panday and Tara Sutaria. It also starred Tiger Shroff in the lead role.
Set in the familiar surroundings of St. Teresa's, the series takes the competition for the coveted 'Student of the Year' title in a darker direction, and this time it is not at all romantic; rather, the race to the top is overshadowed by a mysterious death.
The plot sees Aayesha Malik (Shanaya Kapoor), the school's queen bee, whose mysterious death (found dead and frozen) leaves her twin sister Aditi (also played by Shanaya) searching for answers.
Unconvinced that her sister's death was an accident, Aditi decides to investigate the matter herself, enters St. Teresa's undercover and takes part in the fiercely contested competition.
As she gets closer to the truth, Aditi discovers that Aayesha's closest friend, roommate, and "perfect" boyfriend were also her strongest rivals. With everyone having something to hide, and knowing that whenever there is an accident in the competition, it is covered up by the authorities, implying that Aayesha was a victim of the same, finding the killer would mean navigating the school's cut-throat competition while trying to stay one step ahead of those around her.
Well, quite expectedly, not everyone was impressed with the trailer. While one netizen wrote, "Looks like a cheap bollywood copy of 13 reasons why.," another commented, "Damn!! Too much happening and this is such a different genre attempted for the first time!!!"
One also commented on YouTube that: "Its a mix copies of Echoes , Elite , Boarding school, Class , get even , good girl guide to murder."
Another netizen wrote, "Jio hotstar needs to revamp itself, there is no good show or movie on the platform just tv shows ...even some tv shows don't have complete episodes."
Produced by Dharmatic Entertainment and directed by Reema Maya, Student of the Year: After Dark will premiere on JioHotstar on November 13.
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