Student of the Year After Dark director Reema Maya on why Karan Johar wanted spinoff to be darker | Interview

Karan Johar's Student of the Year franchise is going dark and gritty with SOTY: After Dark, a murder mystery spinoff helmed by Reema Maya.

Student of the Year is back, but this time, as a web series. The third instalment of Karan Johar’s popular and successful franchise takes the viewers back to St. Teresa's College, but instead of fun and romance, there is murder, mystery, and darkness there this time. Student of the Year: After Dark is a spinoff web series, starring Shanaya Kapoor and directed by Reema Maya. Ahead of the show’s release, the filmmaker talks to Hindustan Times about the challenges of making a beloved franchise into something very different.

Reema Maya directs Student of the Year After Dark, produced by Karan Johar.

Reema Maya on making SOTY darker

The first Student of the Year launched Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, and Sidharth Malhotra, introducing the world of St. Teresa’s. The Karan Johar film was a commercial success. A sequel - starring Tiger Shroff, Ananya Panday, and Tara Sutaria - also followed. After Dark is set in the same world, but takes a much darker tone. Shanaya Kapoor plays a student who must investigate the murder of her twin sister in the college.

Director Reema Maya says that Karan Johar had been on board from the beginning about SOTY 3 being ‘different’. Talking about After Dark, she says, “It was always supposed to be Student of the Year 3. From the beginning, the intention was that SOTY 3 needed to be something different. That’s why I was brought on board and told, ‘Please take this and make this your own’.”

The director, who has a knack for making thrillers and horror, adds that there was no pushback from Karan when she told him about her vision for the show. “There was none (pushback); only excitement and encouragement,” she says, adding that KJo told her to ‘just push it and have fun’.

Reema says she is both surprised and honoured for being chosen to reimagine a franchise that Karan himself started. “I’m very honoured that Karan sir decided to put his faith and trust in my voice and my vision. He allowed me to reimagine a franchise that is so close to his heart,” she tells us.

All about Student of the Year After Dark

Student of the Year: After Dark is set at St Teresa’s College but does not bring back any actors from the previous two films. Set years after the events of the two films, it introduces the films’ elite school shrouded in mystery. Apart from Shanaya, the show also stars Divik Sharma, Manya Grover, Abhinav Singh, Adi Malik, and Deeya Damini in lead roles, along with Sheeba Chaddha and Harsh Chhaya. Produced by Karan Johar under Dharmatic Entertainment, SOTY: After Dark premieres on JioHotstar on November 13.