First-time Lucky

Just some three years ago, on the eve of the premiere of Student of the Year, the film's publicist lamented, "No one wants to interview newcomers. They're treated like second-class citizens, and that's putting it mildly."
Alas, that's the fate of every fresher in B-town. No track record means neither media nor public interest, not much anyway. The fact that Varun Dhawan is the son of the long-surviving director David Dhawan, and Alia Bhatt the daughter of Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan, didn't fuel curiosity. As for Sidharth Malhotra, the third end of the love story set in a hill-town campus, he merely had the credentials of a small-time fashion model from New Delhi.
It was up to director Karan Johar, then, to chart the careers of the trio, whom he had presumably cast in the hopes of finding alternate stars to Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. Reports claimed that Khan and Johar no longer shared the kind of cordial terms they'd had through their hat-trick of hits - Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and My Name Is Khan.
When directors no longer team up with their regular actors, the outcome, like it or not, ends up as a disappointment for ticket buyers. To cite the most famous example: once Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra attempted to find other heroes, besides their trusted mascot Amitabh Bachchan, the stalwart filmmakers ended up on Sunset Boulevard. It's just one of those customary twists of fortunes.
Auspiciously though, today, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra are scalding hot property. According to an editor of a website entertainment portal, "Even the most innocuous news item about them ensures countless hits. Some even go viral like the one about Alia suffering a shoulder injury during a location shoot in Coonoor. Thousands of her fans responded with get-well-soon comments, adding icons of frownies, tears and bouquets of roses."
After their debuts, Johar has taken an interest in the course of their careers, without binding them to crippling contracts. At the same time, the threesome express gratitude (a rare quality) to their first director by prioritising projects initiated by the Dharma banner.
Of late, Varun was pencilled in for Shuddhi after Salman Khan dropped out. Conjectures are that the hefty fee demanded by Salman and suggestions like the inclusion of his brother Sohail Khan for a prominent part were just not doable. Alia, besides playing the female lead in Dharma's Kapoor and Sons, rep-laces Kareena Kapoor in Shuddhi.
Fortuitously for Johar, he has his two 'students' as viable alternatives.
Other filmmakers aren't that blessed. With the other exception of Aditya Chopra of the Yashraj banner (inherited from his father, the late and widely adored Yash Chopra), who pilots multiple films simultaneously, there is no director who's considered a star-maker. Just a phone call from Aditya Chopra - also known as the Ghost who Walks since he keeps the lowest profile as one of the biggest names in the history of Indian cinema (no exaggeration that) - and A-listers are faced with offers which cannot be refused, unless they wish to jeopardise their Bollywood careers. like Kangana Ranaut may well have, after an acrimonious controversy over snubbing a call from the hyperactive Yashraj studio.
In the wake of Queen and Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Kangana has become politically incorrect, which may be brave but hardly in sync with the Bollywood rules.
Back to the poster kiddos. Varun Dhawan, who at one point seemed to be headed the Govinda dancing-prancing ways, has actually turned out to be a versatile actor. He was not entirely convincing as a glum widower, hell-bent on wreaking vendetta for the murder of his wife in Badlapur; yet, at the very least, he did step off the teenybopper track. Next, his dance moves in Any Body Can Dance: ABCD 2 assert that he has what it takes to fit into the formulaic entertainers too.
Oddly though, Varun, who had once admitted that he contemplated suicide on breaking up with his girlfriend, chose to deny the same story. When the story was verified, he went silent. Not exactly a smart move that, to rebut his own statements, but that presumably goes with the responsibility of maintaining an invincible star image.
By contrast, Alia, whose most accomplished performance yet was seen in Highway, as the young, abducted bride-to-be, is far more candid. If she made a faux pas on national television, by being clueless of the name of the President of India, she has fielded endless jokes about her being a bimbette, sportingly. "I enjoy them, especially the nasty ones, no problem."
Of the trio, Sidharth has most to loosen up on the screen. The Delhi boy is the 'outsider', so to speak, since he doesn't have the mandatory family connections in showbiz. "He's a good boy," Johar asserts. "He is sure to find his niche." So far, Sidharth's most impactful performance has been as the implosive revenge seeker (lot of that going around nowadays) in Ek Villain. And going by the promos of Brothers, in which he takes on action master Akshay Kumar's fists of fury in a boxing ring, he's on the ascent. Consistently courteous in real life, his handsome face and body are his fortune.
Clearly, Student of the Year was a dream entry point for the youthful trio of Varun, Alia and Sidharth. Today, it would appear that they have staying power too - as long as they don't allow stardom to go to their heads.
Indeed, as Shabana Azmi stated, "In this business, success comes easy. but it requires stamina, humility and talent to stay grounded."