Filmmaker Karan Johar’s college romance franchise Student of the Year is set to take a darker turn with Student of the Year: After Dark, a thriller competition web series starring Shanaya Kapoor.
JioHotstar on Monday unveiled the first look of the series, which is directed by Reema Maya and produced by Dharmatic Entertainment. The show will start streaming on November 13.
Maya described the project as a reimagining of the franchise, stripped to its bones and transformed into a thriller competition series. “Karan Johar has put his faith in my voice and vision and I’m excited to have fun with this genre. The web series format is giving us a wide canvas for the conversations we want to have with our youth. We had so much fun with the music of the show,” she said.
Johar, who launched the original Student of the Year in 2012 with Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan, returns as the producer of the new instalment.
“When I look at this new chapter, I see a phoenix rising. We began this franchise with big dreams in 2012 and now we’re breaking every rule we set. With Reema’s genre-defying direction and Shanaya’s powerful double-role performance, we’re setting the stage for something spectacular,” he said in a statement.
“Shanaya isn’t just stepping into the spotlight, she’s shattering it and the first look is just the tip of the iceberg”, he added.
“It is an exciting creative leap bringing back a familiar and much-loved IP in a completely new avatar, while retaining the spirit of what made it connect with audiences in the first place,” Alok Jain, Head – Hindi & English Entertainment Business (Streaming, TV & Studios), JioStar, said.
Apoorva Mehta, CEO and Managing Director of Dharmatic Entertainment, said Student of the Year: After Dark was not just a reboot but a bold, genre-defying reimagining for a new generation.
Punit Malhotra directed the second film in the franchise, released in 2019, featuring Ananya Panday, Tiger Shroff and Tara Sutaria in lead roles.