The filmmaker has announced Student Of The Year: After Dark, a new web series starring Shanaya Kapoor , which promises to trade the original films’ campus glamour for a darker world of mystery, violence and competition. Karan Johar is giving Student Of The Year a major makeover as the franchise completes 14 years today, October 19.
“This isn’t going to be what you expect. It is Student Of The Year, stripped to its bones and reimagined as a thriller competition web-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. The cast is young and incredibly talented! Shanaya is a director’s actor – prepared and hardworking,” she adds. With its stylish campus, popular soundtrack, fashion and romantic rivalries, the film became a launchpad for all three actors.
The original Student Of The Year, released in 2012, introduced Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra. Its sequel, Student Of The Year 2, arrived in 2019, starring Tiger Shroff , Ananya Panday and Tara Sutaria.
This time, however, the makers are taking the franchise in a completely different direction. Shanaya, who makes her digital debut with the series, reportedly plays a double role. Directed by Reema Maya and produced by Dharmatic Entertainment, the show reimagines the familiar St. Theresa setting as a thriller competition. The web series format, she explained, also gives the team more room to explore conversations relevant to young people. For Shanaya, the project offers an opportunity to challenge the expectations surrounding her on-screen image. “Student Of The Year: After Dark Web Series for me is more than just a project, it’s a bold statement. Portraying this character in a contrasting manner is a deliberate choice to challenge expectations and redefine what audiences anticipate from mainstream storytelling. The role is layered, flawed, and unapologetically real. Stepping into her world has been the most challenging and a rewarding experience,” she adds. 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. He also highlighted the partnership with JioHotstar as an important part of bringing this new vision to audiences. Our upcoming project, Student of the Year: After Dark Web Series, is a testament to this shared vision. It’s not just a reboot, but a bold, genre-defying reimagining for a new generation.”
Director Reema Maya said the series would retain the franchise’s name while moving away from the elements audiences associate with it. The actor said her character’s complexity and unconventional portrayal made the experience particularly demanding. Alok Jain, Head of Hindi & English Entertainment Business at JioStar, said the team wanted to bring something unexpected to a franchise that has remained popular with young audiences. He says, “Student of the Year is a generational favourite, and reimagining an iconic franchise for a new format and a new generation comes with both responsibility and creative risk,” he said. Apoorva Mehta, CEO and Managing Director of Dharmatic Entertainment, said the series reflects the production house’s interest in stories that move with changing times. He says, “At Dharmatic, we champion stories that evolve with the times, and finding a partner like JioHotstar, who shares that creative ethos is nothing short of remarkable.
Karan returns as a producer, backing a project that moves away from the glossy college drama associated with the earlier films. “Karan Johar created a world that became a defining part of youth culture, and with Student of the Year: After Dark, we have consciously chosen to take that legacy in a completely new direction, moving beyond what audiences may expect from the franchise and exploring a world that reflects how young India experiences stories today.
