Koffee With Karan: Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan did not want Alia Bhatt in SOTY, reveals host KJo

Karan Johar's 2012 film Student Of The Year may not have received critical acclaim, but the film will always be remembered for launching the careers of Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan, and Alia Bhatt. Sidharth and Varun shared the couch in the recent episode of Koffee With Karan where host Karan Johar revealed that the two had tried to convince him to not cast Alia Bhatt initially.

During a segment in the show, Karan reminded the two actors of how they were against the idea of Alia being cast in the film.

“I still remember with Alia, the first time that she walked in, how both of you sent me messages saying you can’t cast her. One of you said she is too young. I am saying it started like this but when we shot with her, three months post that for a photo shoot, I remember she stood quiet and didn’t look at either of you. Either she was conscious or shy because you all already knew me. She didn’t know me at all. We did the photo shoot, and right after that, I mean, I knew at the first shot," Karan said.

Karan also mentioned that Varun would show him pictures of other actresses that he could cast instead of Alia. Thankfully, he did not listen to Varun and stuck with his decision.

Varun and Sidharth had worked with Karan as assistant directors in My Name Is Khan before they made their acting debut in SOTY.
Alia and Varun worked together in movies like Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya and Kalank after SOTY. Sidharth and Alia worked in Dharma's Kapoor & Sons and even dated in real life for a while. She is now married to Ranbir Kapoor and Sid to Kiara Advani.