The competition of life

Two years after “My Name is Khan”, Karan Johar dons the director’s hat again for “Student of the Year”. Touted to be a romantic comedy, the film stars newcomers Varun Dhawan, Siddharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles. Produced by Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan under the banner of Dharma Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment, the film will be hitting theatres on October 19 this year. As part of the film’s promotional tour, a press conference was held in New Delhi recently.

Asked whether coming from a film background made things easy for him, Varun (who happens to be the son of director David Dhawan), replied, “Yes, it was easy just to enter. Being from a well-known family, people might ask you for a cup of coffee, but when it comes to investing money and giving roles in movies, nobody bothers about your background. You need to be talented, your tag won’t help.” Adding to that Alia said, “Karan Johar wouldn’t cast us in lead roles if we hadn’t completed our skill tests.” Alia is Mahesh Bhatt’s daughter.

Siddharth, replying to the same question, said, “For me it was a bit tough because I don’t have anyone to guide me or share anything with. But, overall, I really enjoyed working in the film.”

The actors added that the film also had its share of physical activity, in the form of cycling, running and swimming.

“I swim, but 800 metres at a stretch is not an easy job. We had to prepare ourselves, physically as well as mentally,” said Varun.

Alia plays the role of Shanaya Singhania. “She’s a brand freak. Her life is incomplete without brands. She loves her Gucci and Prada. I play a doll in the movie,” she elaborated. “People always say beauty and brains don’t go hand in hand. I want to erase that perception with my role.”

Varun said he plays Rohan, a “spoilt brat and son of a multi-millionaire.” He, however, was quick to add, “I am the total opposite of my role in the movie.”

Talking about the storyline, Siddharth said, “The film revolves around the friendship between Abhimanyu Singh (me) and Rohan (Varun). My role is basically of a boy from a normal family who looks up to Rohan’s father as he’s always wanted to become like him. The story is all about competition, how the simple ‘Student of the Year’ competition becomes the competition of life, and how a race for the tag can bring out the competitive spirit between friends and ruin the friendship.”