Student of the Year

Former principal Dean Yogendra Vashisht of St. Teresa's High School, Dehradun, had aged and fallen ill. His last wish was to see the students from his last batch, who were part of the "Student of the Year" competition. Some former students arrive at the hospital to meet the Dean and talk about their regrets from ten years ago in high school. They hold themselves responsible for the lively Dean having fallen ill. The film then goes into a flashback set ten years back at the high school.

The richest and most popular guy in the high school, Rohan "Ro" Nanda, is the son of a huge business tycoon Ashok Nanda, who also is the chief trustee of the high school. His father wants him to be a businessman just like him and disagrees with his passion for music. Shanaya Singhania, a fashion addict and the most popular girl in the campus, is Rohan's girlfriend. She is dis-satisfied with her family, as her mother constantly divorces and marries rich men. Shanaya gets upset with Rohan's regular flirting with Tanya Israni, another student and Shanaya's arch-nemesis. Abhimanyu "Abhi" Singh, a new student, arrives at the high school and becomes the classy new heart-throb. An orphan from a middle-class family, he lives with his aunt, uncle, and grandmother. His dream is to become a big business tycoon like Ashok Nanda. Rohan and Abhi initially don't get along but soon become best friends. Rohan introduces Shanaya to Abhi, warning Abhi not to get involved with her romantically, though Abhi convinces Rohan that Shanaya is poles apart from him and that she better be with Rohan only.

Abhi is invited to Rohan's elder brother's destination wedding in Thailand, which Shanaya and other rich family friends are attending as well. In Thailand, Shanaya sees Tanya and Rohan's flirting never end. At the sangeet, Shanaya openly flirts with Abhi, attempting to make Rohan jealous. The plan works but Rohan discovers she did this to get him back on track.

On the wedding day, Rohan apologizes to her and is easily forgiven while Abhi realizes that he is in love with Shanaya. They head back to India, where the "Student of the Year" competition, which determines the best student intellectually and also the best sportsperson, commences. The first round is the quiz in which Rohan, Abhi, Shanaya and most of their friends win. The second round is the treasure hunt. Abhi and Shanaya's team wins the hunt, though Ro's team also qualifies. Abhi's grandmother falls sick and eventually dies. Shanaya stands by him during this difficult time. Upset with his grandmother's death, Abhi tries to send Shanaya away, but she feels attracted to him, stays back and they happen to share a kiss. Rohan sees this and is heartbroken, which leads to a heated argument and fight between him and Abhi, resulting in them becoming enemies again.

In the third round, the Prom, a confused Shanaya picks Rohan's friend Jeet Khurana as her partner as she can't choose between Abhi and Ro. Disowning Jeet and ending his friendship with him over this issue, Rohan goes with Tanya and Abhi goes with Shanaya's former best friend Shruti Pathak after she had a split with Shanaya, who is disqualified for leaving the dance before it ends. The last round of the competition is a triathlon. Abhi is winning but slows down and Rohan wins. In the award ceremony, Rohan declines to accept the award citing personal reasons. Yogi is abused by a drunken friend of theirs, Kaizad "Sudo" Sodabottleopenerwala, due to which he eventually retires. Later Shanaya and Abhi get married.

In the present, Rohan and Abhi run into each other when they come to visit their ailing principal. Abhi and Rohan end up fighting during a confrontation while talking about their past and happen to release everything they were holding back for the last ten years. Rohan comes to terms with his anger over the entire drama when he discovers the truth about the triathlon-- Abhi saw Ashok happy when Rohan was losing, and that he intentionally allowed Rohan to win because he didn't want to be too evil like Ashok and that it was his way of surpassing Ashok in stature. Both of them realize how important friendship is, and reconcile.

The film targeted viewers with contest-based marketing. Stressing 'competition' which would make up for a significant part of the movie, contests such as the 'Nano Student of the Year', 'The Buddy of the Year' and 'FedEx International Student of the Year' were launched targeting students across the country.

Tata Motors, the on-ground promotion partner for the movie, launched the 'Nano Student of the Year' contest for all high-school students in India.[15] In the first round students were judged on 4 parameters; namely, academics, culture, sports, and social life. The top 8 finalists would compete for the 'Nano Student of the Year' title.[16] The contest was held across India in mid-September 2012.

The production house partnered with FedEx Express announcing a special 'FedEx Student Offer' and launch of 'FedEx International Student of the Year' campaign. It was aimed at individuals in India applying for higher education abroad. Student of the Year was promoted across non-fiction properties such as Kaun Banega Crorepati on Sony Entertainment Television and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and Bigg Boss on Colors. Radio stations such as Red FM, Radio City, Big FM were used for the promotion of the film and its music.[17]

Student of the Year received mixed reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave 4/5 stars, saying, "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. The accomplished director takes on familiar material and gives it an entirely new twirl. This is an escapist cinema at its best! On the whole, Student of the Year is amongst Karan Johar's most accomplished works. The youth brigade would love it and those who have already passed that age would want to revisit those days. This one's entertainment, entertainment, and entertainment at its best. KJo has a winner on hands, yet again!"[35] Komal Nahta also gave it 4/5 calling it a "supremely-entertaining" movie.[36] Raita Tandon of Filmfare gave it 4/5 stars stating "All in all, Karan’s SOTY world is surreal and spectacular yet it has moments that will bring you back to reality and warm the cockles of your heart. This is escapism at its best."[37] Joginder Tuteja of Indiaglitz gave the movie 4/5 stars and commented,"With a fun outing like Student of the Year, Karan Johar has proven once again that he can fluctuate between making a relatively serious film like My Name Is Khan (2010) and come back to candy floss youth entertainer in the mode of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). With an eye on some lavish entertainment translating on-screen and bringing new talent to the industry, Student of the Year is a winner." Madhureeta Mukherjee of The Times of India gave the film 3.5/5 stars, stating that "Student of the Year takes you back to your books and sinks you in true-blue Bollywood syllabus, following the 'formula' – 2 boys, 1 girl, 1 glorious trophy and lots of testosterone. It is larger-than-life, colorful, lavish, beautifully shot and directed. With medleys, dance, drama, and everything good-looking (from cast to couches, dorms to discos)."[38] Indicine gave it 3.5/5 stars, commenting "Overall, there isn’t a dull moment in Student of the Year. It has something in it for everyone – romance, action, entertainment, good performances, and catchy music. Go for it."[39] The social movie rating site MOZVO gave it a score of 3.7/5 putting it in the recommended category.[40]

Rajeev Masand of IBNLive gave it 3/5 stars and wrote, "Nitpicking aside, this is a breezy, enjoyable film by a director who knows his craft." He remarked, "If fun is what you’re seeking, you won't be disappointed."[41] Giving the film 3/5 stars, Anupama Chopra of Hindustan Times 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.[42] Sukanya Verma of Rediff gave 3/5 stars, commenting that "Student of the Year is no Kuch Kuch Hota Hai but Karan Johar makes it look good."[43] Rubina A. Khan of The First Post gave the film 3/5 stars, stating that "Student of the Year is not KJo's finest work. Sure, it’s got all the elements of finesse and expansive production values that his films are known for, but he has also been very pivotal in directing and producing films with engaging stories in the past."[44] Nabanita of Oneindia gave it 3/5 commenting "Student of the Year is a youthful and interesting movie that deserves a thumbs up. 3 cheers for this."[45] India Today also gave the film a rating of 3/5.[46] Sify awarded it 3/5 stars saying, "So there you have it – a fun, frothy film that won't insult your intelligence and sensibility. Worth a watch!"[47]

Roshni Devi of Koimoi gave it 2.5/5 stars, praising the performances. Kanika Sikka of DNA India gave 2.5/5 stars, concluding that "Student of the Year is not something you would want to miss if the surreal setting with bubble-gum romance is your calling. The performances make this film a great watch."[48] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 2.5/5 stars, commenting that "Student of the Year definitely isn't the film of the year. But if you like your entertainment to be served up with glitzy but pulpy garnishing, pirouette your way to the nearest screen by all means."[49] Ananya Bhattacharya of Zee News gave the film 2/5 stars, saying that "Student of the Year is worth a watch only for the debutantes. They have pulled off a tough task of playing praiseworthy roles in a film which suffers from the lack-of-a-story syndrome."[50]

A 2-disc DVD set was released on 24 December 2012 which contains the making of the film, song, and deleted scenes. Bollywood Hungama gave the DVD 4/5 stars.[51]

The soundtrack was composed by Vishal-Shekhar with the lyrics penned by Anvita Dutt Guptan. "The Disco Song" is a revamped cover version of "Disco Deewane" (1981) by Pakistani pop singer Nazia Hassan,[52] incorporating her vocals along with those of Sunidhi Chauhan and Benny Dayal.[53]

The soundtrack received positive reviews from music critics. Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave the album 4/5 stars, saying that "Student of the Year is a winner with Vishal Shekhar (yet again!) justifying their stance of doing a few films but lending quality sound to it. They create the kind of score which totally compliments [sic] the mood of the campus setting without straying even once."[54] IANS of CNN-IBN gave the album 4/5 stars, concluding that "The soundtrack of Student of the Year is a good mix with very minor flaws that can surely be ignored to enjoy the music that perfectly describes the mood of the movie."[55] Satyajit of Yahoo! gave the album 3.5/5 stars, stating that "Student of the Year is complete youthful musical entertainment, an album that brings all the positive elements of a typical Karan Johar entertainer. Vishal Shekhar delivers a potential winner this time."[56]

The romantic track "Ishq Wala Love" became the biggest hit of the album followed by "Radha" and "The Disco Song".[57] On 26 September 2012, The Times of India reported that the soundtrack was "appealing to people of all tastes and there's something for everyone in it".[58]

Student of the Year won several awards, particularly for its direction, performances of the lead actors, and music.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Student of the Year.

• Official website
• Student of the Year at IMDb
• Student of the Year at Bollywood Hungama