Karan Johar’s SOTY stars Siddharth with Rishi Kapoor as a gay dean

Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor has been known for his romantic on-screen persona, appearing in romantic roles several times in the past. Off late however, the actor seems to have stepped away from his usual for director Karan Johar, first playing the role of Rauf Lala in the remake of Agneepath and recently a gay dean in Student of the Year. The film is Karan Johar’s fifth directorial venture and stars debutants Siddharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt in the lead.

Quoting Rishi Kapoor speaking about his gay role in Student of the Year, "Yes, my character is soft on Ronit in Student of the Year. Why not? I play the dean of the college. And yes, my character is gay.  It's one of the most important roles of my career at the moment. This is the time of my career when I get to experiment. I don't want to play the conventional father. Besides, I can't say no to Karan." The director himself has been all-praise for Rishi’s role in the recently released movie and has previously stated “Such an honor to work with Rishi Kapoor... his versatility is unreal... Rauf lala to his portrayal of Dean Yoginder Vasisht in SOTY... genius (sic)!"

Apart from that, Rishi Kapoor has gone all out with praise for the newcomers in the film stating “All the young kids are terrific. Whatever I’ve seen of the film, they’re very talented and focused, waiting on the threshold of a big career. It’s great victory for Karan, to make a film on this scale with newcomers. In today’s times, no one risks his money and position, especially at the stage where Karan is. It’s great for a man of his stature to spend enormous money on this film. He said his way of making a movie is the same, only the hero has changed. He has the guts, the gall to make a film with his vision, thinking. All the credit for SOTY goes to Karan.”