Reema Maya reacts to 13 Reasons Why comparisons with Student of the Year: After Dark

Shanaya Kapoor (C) in ‘Student of the Year: After Dark’. Pics/Youtube, By Special Arrangement

Confusion was Reema Maya's first reaction when she was approached to direct the newest instalment of Student of the Year (SOTY). Having made independent movies and music videos, she wasn't an expected choice for filmmaker Karan Johar's franchise that offers a glossy take on campus life. Recalling her first conversation with Johar, she said, "I remember Karan saying, ‘I want you to make it your own.' He has been true to his word." The result is Student of the Year: After Dark.

Reema Maya

Veering away from SOTY's romantic comedy territory, the upcoming series is a YA murder mystery that sees Shanaya Kapoor's Aditi join the college to probe what led to her twin sister's death. The darker treatment has inevitably drawn comparisons with international YA shows, particularly 13 Reasons Why. "Honestly I haven't seen 13 Reasons Why. So, I don't know [whether they are similar]. But I want India to make more and more YA content so that everything is not compared to an external reference point, and we start believing more in the originality of our own storytelling."

A still from ‘13 Reasons Why'

Maya instead views SOTY: After Dark as a series that uses the franchise's competition format to examine the pressure put on young minds. "We're constantly told, ‘Compete, compete; win, win; succeed, succeed'. What does that do to minds, to friendships and relationships? That's what I wanted to explore. We wanted to do something that feels like a conversation with the youth of today."

At the centre of the offering is Kapoor. Maya recalled the actor's willingness to push herself as she portrayed two sisters. "Shanaya had a lot on her plate because she was playing two diametrically opposite characters. Throughout the shoot, she had become the protagonist. It's only when I met her after the shoot that she spoke like herself."

Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan

Given that the franchise launched the careers of Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Ananya Panday, and Tara Sutaria, the team may have considered bringing them back for cameos. Not really, said Maya. "I wanted to give this opportunity to new talent that deserved the stage. When you see the show, you'll know there's little space for cameos," she said