Student of The Year 2 — A Failed Tribute to Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar

Student of the Year 2 does not match up to the iconic Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar.

I woke up on a bright Sunday morning and decided to give my overworked brain some rest. So, hold your breath, I headed to the theatre to watch Student of the Year 2. Well, I won’t delve too deep into the no-brainer. Rather, I will take all the millennials on a nostalgic trip by citing another film that we swore by as teenagers and that Student of the Year 2 pays a tribute to – Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. Was it worth the effort? Let’s see.

Dehradun Sets the Tone, but Where Are the Woollens?

Dehradun forms the backdrop for both the films. Amidst a beautifully romantic setting, unfolds a tale of friendship, rivalry and romance. Wait, I am talking about Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. The affluent kids of Rajput College are always looking for opportunities to taunt the ‘pyjamachhaps’ of Model College. The winding roads of the hill station see fights, car chases and a cycle competition, while the Sunset Point is witness to romance, flirting and heartbreaks. Don’t forget the Ramlal’s café too, where boys would queue up in their smartest blazers and pullovers to impress girls from Queen’s.

Now, coming to Student of the Year 2. Rajput College is replaced by St Teresa’s and Model with Pishorilal (what an absolutely fantastic name for a college that has kids from middle and lower-class backgrounds!)

Secondly. Dehradun is there in all its glory, but we get to see none of it. All we see is a shirtless (mostly) Tiger Shroff jumping off buildings to get inside his bestie aka girlfriend aka Tara Sutaria’s house through the roof. How romantic! Cafes give way to a plush bar, and ‘poor, uncool’ boys and girls try to impress rich brats by… err... donning hideous superhero costumes! But the most important question – WHERE ARE THE WOOLENS?

Death of the Lyrics

Usne baat ki kuch aise dhang se – A generation fell in love with Pehla Nasha. When Aamir Khan swung his sweater and danced to the lyrical tunes of the Jatin-Lalit composition or Ayesha Jhulka wrote her letters, we believed in a world that was conjured by Mansoor Khan. Yaahan Ke Hum Sikandar almost became an anthem in our school fests.

Fakira is the counterpart of Pehla Nasha, but the song travels without really touching the heart. And if I may ask – what’s so new and unique about The Jawaani Song? Also, another gem from Mumbai Dilli Di Kudiyaan – Dil mein bhara hai aise disco, disco, disco, Paani Pyaara hai jaise fish ko. I rest my case.

Aamir Khan Versus Tiger Shroff?

Aamir Khan’s Sanju stole our hearts in a beat. Sanju fails his exams, plays pranks on his brother, steals a car to impress the rich, but beautiful Devika (Pooja Bedi), does not hesitate to take on the bad guy Shekhar Malhotra aka Deepak Tijori (in one of the funniest scenes, Sanju and Devika cake an immaculately dressed Shekhar and his friends with poop to teach them a lesson) and takes refuge at his childhood friend Anjali’s place after an argument with his dad. We laugh with Sanju, cry with him when his brother meets with an accident, cheer for him during the cycle race and secretly wish that he would end up with Anjali. Just like us he is flawed, and his imperfections make him endearing.

Cut to 2019. Rohan aka Tiger Shroff replaces Sanju. Rohan also aspires to fit in, but he is the perfect schoolboy who does not have any character arc. He has abs, he can dance and his childhood bestie is Tara Sutaria aka Mridula aka Mia. Mia affectionately calls Rohan ‘Ro’, and this irrelevant information is very relevant for a viewer because your eyes will well up seeing Tiger’s deadpan expression, hearing the dialogues and searching for a story. Just like JJWS, there’s a love triangle here too, just that rich girl Shreya (Ananya Panday) falls for poor boy Rohan. But giving credit where it’s due, there is an honest actor – the dog Rusty. He does not pretend that he is impatiently waiting for the cake.

Give It up for Deepak Tijori

A mandatory element in the nineties films was the villain. Deepak Tijori aced it as the spoiled brat of Rajput College. He has access to the gym, expensive cars and spends his time trying to crush the morale of Sanju’s brother Ratan (Mamik Singh). He too has impressive abs, flirts with multiple girls at the same time, picks up fights on the road and at Sanju’s dad’s café, and a fatal one with Ratan wherein the latter suffers grievous injuries. He even tries to overpower Sanju during the race.

Now, please put your hands together for Manav Singh Randhawa (Aditya Seal), the big, bad guy in SOTY 2. He too has abs, flirts with poor boy Rohan’s girlfriend, has a barrage of expensive cars and takes his superhero costume too seriously. While all the fights in the previous film take place outside college, here students don’t even have to make the effort of stepping out. Manav beats Rohan and his Pishorilal friends black and blue, breaks Rohan’s hand in the kabaddi match, but clearly Punit Malhotra’s college is devoid of teachers. We bought into Shekhar Malhotra’s antics, but we would rather not pay to watch Manav again.

Kabaddi or Cycle Race ?

The charged-up cycle competition from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar has stayed with us till now. While Ratan trains day in and day out to bring laurels to his school and make his father proud, Sanju fakes a sprain just so that he does not have to run. However, in the end the hero has to win, and Sanju brings home the cup.

Tiger Shroff, too, wins the Dignity Cup, in a kabaddi match. But, I still can’t get over the bizarre nature of the match. In the final sequence of the match, he does a back flip, remains suspended in the air for a while, and then defeats the entire team by touching six players while still in that position! Go figure!

Ladies, Learn From Ayesha Jhulka

Ayesha Jhulka wasn’t just a pretty face in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. She was a car mechanic, was outspoken and played an integral role as Sanju’s friend, confidante and later love interest. On the other hand, Tara Sutaria plays a scheming Mia who has to shed a lot of tears in SOTY 2, but never really contributes in any significant way. Ananya’s Shreya has some spark, but that dies down too soon.

SOTY 2 is a campus caper structured along the lines of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, but fails to make the desired impact. Punit Malhotra, it’s time to put little less effort into stripped jeans, and more into stitching a plot that might age as graciously as a film like JJWS has.