Let’s broach a topic that absolutely needs to be discussed – the sequel to Student Of The Year. Fondly remembered as SOTY, the 2012 film was as hip as it got for that time. Of course, none of the stars looked like they actually belonged in a school but such things are expected from a project helmed by Karan Johar. SOTY introduced us to fresh faces (finally) and every desi millennial found new celebs to crush over.

Here’s why SOTY will always hold a special place in our hearts:

Sidharth Malhotra

When Kayoz Irani and Manjot Singh sang “inna sona, inna cool, munda inna wonderful” while checking Sidharth Malhotra out, we felt that in our very soul. Malhotra truly was the kukkad kamaal da.

There was something fresh about him – the ‘brooding, ambitious guy from humble beginnings’ thing was so on-brand. It obviously helped that he was very easy on the eyes.

Look at him in this scene:

Can you really blame Alia Bhatt for dumping Varun for this fine specimen? Tiger Shroff has a great body but he can’t match up to this.

Alia Bhatt

Speaking of Miss Bhatt – wow. She really came through with that whole ‘popular schoolgirl’ act. We all like to hate on Karan Johar for promoting nepotism but he made such a brilliant choice by launching Alia. 

Not since the days of Kareena Kapoor’s Poo have we been in awe of an It Girl and such was her impact that almost every other Bandra girl born after 2012 is named Shanaya.

Also, we’d like to add that she turned out to be the most successful ‘student’ of them all. Ananya Panday and Tara Sutaria have some big shoes to fill.

The music

Every sangeet in 2012 and 2013 had a bunch of people (usually headed by a girl named Neha) dancing to Radha. The Disco Song could be heard in every club in the country and if your boyfriend didn’t sing Ishq Wala Love to you after a breakup, did he even love you?

The camaraderie between Varun and Sidharth

Yeah, Alia and Sidharth looked good together but the real chemistry was between Varun and Sid. The two of them looked so comfortable around each other, it was evident from the get-go that the duo were pals offscreen as well. Too bad we aren’t in that place in our country where we can have an SOTY where Abhimanyu and Rohan dump Shanaya and ride off into the sunset together.

Karan Johar

SOTY was directed by KJo whereas SOTY 2 will be directed by Punit Malhotra. While we’re sure that Punit Malhotra will bring something new to the table, the fact remains that nobody does love stories/college romances/big budget dramas like KJo.

We have no idea what SOTY 2 will be like but going by the poster and the cast selection, it’s safe to say that it just doesn’t have that SOTY magic. The freshness is missing – Tiger Shroff has been there and done that and while there’s no way of knowing what Ananya Panday and Tara Sutaria will be like in the film, there’s no comparing them to Alia Bhatt.

But hey, at the end of the day, it is a Karan Johar production. A master at his craft, Johar is also the ultimate Bollywood godfather. Here’s hoping he can recreate the SOTY magic and make something out of the star cast.