Student Of The Year gets dark! Shanaya Kapoor’s blood-stained look leaves SOTY glamour behind | Watch
New Delhi: Forget the glamorous college corridors, designer wardrobes and larger-than-life campus romances. Karan Johar is taking the Student Of The Year franchise into much darker territory. As SOTY completes 14 years on Monday (October 19), the filmmaker announced Student Of The Year: After Dark, a new web series starring Shanaya Kapoor.
The first look itself signals how dramatically the franchise is changing. Shanaya appears in a blood-stained frozen avatar, setting the tone for a story built around mystery, violence and fierce competition rather than the glossy campus drama associated with the previous films. The series will also mark Shanaya’s digital debut and is reportedly set to feature her in a double role.
Karan Johar announces Student Of The Year: After Dark
Announcing the project on social media, Karan looked back at the franchise’s journey while promising audiences something very different this time.
“Nostalgia is working overtime this week!!! As we complete 14 years of our beloved SOTY franchise…we embark on a new journey taking it forward but it’s now in AFTER DARK! Gritty, gory, unabashed and absolute madness!!!! Gear up!👊👊👊.”
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Directed by Reema Maya and produced by Dharmatic Entertainment, Student Of The Year: After Dark reimagines the familiar world of St. Theresa as a thriller. Karan returns as producer, but the new series is designed to move away from the formula that defined the first two Student Of The Year films.
Reema Maya promises an unexpected SOTY
Director Reema Maya said the team has stripped the franchise down and rebuilt it for the web-series format, giving the story more room to explore issues and conversations relevant to younger audiences.
“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.
Shanaya Kapoor on her darker role
For Shanaya, After Dark offers a chance to break away from expectations surrounding her on-screen image. The actor described the character as layered and flawed, calling the project a “bold statement”.
“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 rewarding experience,” she adds.
About SOTY franchise
The original Student Of The Year, directed by Karan Johar, was released in 2012 and introduced Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra as leading actors. The franchise returned with Student Of The Year 2 in 2019, starring Tiger Shroff, Ananya Panday and Tara Sutaria.