Student of the Year 2

<p>Rohan Sachdev, a student from Pishorilal Chamandas College, transfers to the prestigious St. Teresa’s College to reunite with his childhood crush, Mridula “Mia” Chawla. Initially mocked by the students, Rohan quickly gains popularity through his athletic talent and begins dating Mia. He becomes friends with Manav Singh Randhawa, the current holder of the “Student of the Year” title and son of a major school , and clashes with Manav’s sister, Shreya. During a dance competition, Rohan and Mia lose to Manav and Shreya. Rohan later discovers Mia and Manav in an intimate moment and confronts Manav. For striking the trustee’s son, Rohan is expelled and beaten by Manav’s group. After a period of discouragement, Rohan returns to Pishorilal and rekindles his friendship with former classmates. Shreya, having grown sympathetic toward Rohan, asks him to partner with her for a dance competition. The two gradually fall in love. Meanwhile, Mia seeks forgiveness from Rohan for her past actions. Though she initially attempts to rekindle their relationship, Rohan maintains his focus on the tournament. Shreya and Mia support Rohan’s efforts, with Rohan eventually accepting Shreya’s love. Pishorilal advances to the finals against St. Teresa’s. In the climactic match, Rohan leads his team to victory, defeating Manav and securing the “Student of the Year” title. Rohan and Shreya reconcile, while Mia departs on a positive note, happy for his success. Following the commercial success of (2012), a standalone sequel was announced by in collaboration with . In November 2017, it was confirmed that would direct the film, marking his return to filmmaking after (2013), with in the lead role. , who directed the original, served as producer. Although initial reports suggested that actors such as or might be cast, Johar dismissed the speculation, stating that such reports were “baseless and untrue.” Shroff described his character in the sequel as an underdog, while Malhotra clarified that the film would not continue the original storyline but instead offer a new narrative focused on sports and youth culture. In April 2018, debutantes and were announced as the film’s female leads. Sutaria had previously auditioned for the role of in ‘s (2019) and was cast in shortly afterward. Harsh Beniwal, a YouTuber, and television actor joined the cast in supporting roles, both marking their film debuts. was cast as the college principal, a character functionally similar to the one portrayed by Rishi Kapoor in the original film. appeared in a cameo role in the song “Hook Up” alongside Shroff. American actor also made a brief appearance in a dance sequence, filmed as part of his series . commenced on 9 April 2018 in , with subsequent shoots in and . Key scenes were filmed at to enhance the authenticity of the campus setting. Sets were also constructed at in for indoor sequences. opted out of another project, (2019), to avoid scheduling conflicts with the film’s production. In August 2018, an outdoor sequence was filmed in . Filming concluded in September 2018 with the completion of the climax sequence. The film was produced on an estimated budget of ₹650 million, including marketing and promotion costs. The film’s soundtrack was composed by , with lyrics written by , , and first-time collaborator Vayu. The album was released under the label. On 30 July 2018, announced that the release of was postponed to 10 May 2019. While no official reason was cited, media outlets speculated that the decision was influenced by the anticipated box office performance of (2018), a high-profile science fiction action film starring , , and . The film was announced with a first-look poster featuring , released by on 20 November 2017 through social media channels. The poster originally carried a release date of 23 November 2018. In April 2018, additional posters introducing debutantes and were released. The casting drew attention for furthering ongoing debates about in the Hindi film industry. Teaser posters highlighting Shroff’s character were released on 10 April 2019, followed by individual posters of Sutaria and Panday the next day. A final theatrical poster was shared on 12 April 2019 by Johar on . The official trailer debuted on 17 April 2019, attached to the theatrical release of . Kshamaya Daniel of remarked that while the cast appeared promising, the trailer’s storyline seemed less compelling. was made available for streaming on on 1 September 2019. In India, opened to moderate occupancy levels, with an average rate of 20–25% for its early shows. It earned approximately ₹11.75–12 crore on its opening day, ranking as the fifth-highest domestic opener of 2019 at the time. The film showed slight growth on its second day, collecting ₹13.5–13.75 crore, but its Sunday earnings declined to ₹12.25–12.5 crore due to the and polling for the . Collections dropped significantly by the following Friday, bringing in just ₹1.5 crore, and the film was pulled from most theatres by the end of its second week. It grossed an estimated ₹98 crore worldwide, including ₹65 crore in India and ₹33 crore overseas. received predominantly negative reviews from critics. Criticism was largely directed at the film’s writing, lack of originality, and unrealistic portrayal of school life. It holds an approval rating of 6% on , based on multiple reviews. of rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, calling it “a string of clichés assembled into an unoriginal screenplay.” of gave it 2 out of 5 stars, remarking that the film was “predictable” and “unnecessary.” of also rated the film 1.5 out of 5 and described it as “an egregiously escapist campus-rumpus musical,” criticizing its implausibility and lack of depth. of similarly gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and noted that while the underdog storyline followed a conventional arc, it lacked energy and innovation. She remarked that “executes his dances-and-fights efficiently” but “struggles to appear student-like.” Some reviewers offered a more favorable view. of praised the screenplay for its entertaining and emotional moments, stating that the film “will strike a chord in the audience’s hearts.” Ronak Kotecha of gave it 3 out of 5 stars, acknowledging its lack of emotional depth but commending its high school drama and visual appeal. Meena Iyer of also rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, comparing it to an adaptation. She highlighted Shroff’s performance, writing, “Even when things around him are caving in, his ballerina grace is intact.”</p>