Reema Maya has opened up about comparisons between Student of the Year: After Dark and Netflix’s Class.
She said the series is a young adult murder mystery show with an original treatment
The show stars Shanaya Kapoor in a double role as she searches for her twin sister’s killer.
Karan Johar’s Student of the Year franchise has shifted from campus romance to a murder mystery with Student of the Year: After Dark, led by Shanaya Kapoor and directed by Reema Maya. When the trailer dropped, some compared it to Netflix’s Class. Director Reema Maya has broken her silence on the comparisons.
Reema Maya on Student of the Year: After Dark
In an interview with Zoom, Reema Maya said her show is not a copy, and “one must understand the difference between something being derivative and something belonging to the genre”.
Maya called her series a “young adult murder mystery and competition series”, adding that “the fun of all those genres we have tried to bring on the table and say it in our original and unique way.”
Reacts to Class comparisons
Maya directly addressed the similarities viewers have pointed to. She called Class a “wonderful show”, and Ashim Ahluwalia an “amazing filmmaker”.
She said that certain genres have certain expectations. “If you are making a young adult murder mystery, there will be a murder, there will be a high school, there will be teenage characters and interpersonal dynamics. That is the expectation of the genre,” Maya added.
About Student of the Year: After Dark
The series sees Shanaya Kapoor in a double role, with Abhinav Singh, Divik Sharma, Manya Grover, Deeya Damani, Adi Malik, Sheeba Chaddha and Vivek Gomber in significant roles.
The series follows Shanaya’s character entering the Student of the Year contest to find the killer of her twin sister. As she investigates, she also faces rivalry and betrayal on campus. Backed by Karan Johar's Dharmatic Entertainment, it premiered on JioHotstar on November 13.
About Class
The 2023 teen crime drama is an adaptation of the Spanish show Elite. Set at Delhi’s Hampton International School, the show follows three students from middle-class backgrounds who get scholarships and enter a world of privileged and wealthy students.
It starred Gurfateh Pirzada, Piyush Khati, Anjali Sivaraman, Ayesha Kanga and Madhyama Segal, among others.
