Karan Johar praises his students Alia, Varun, Sidharth in a heartfelt message

As 'Student of the Year' completed seven years on Saturday, filmmaker Karan Johar praised Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, and Sidharth Malhotra.

Karan took to his official Instagram account to show his affection for the three actors who made their debut in the industry with his film 'Student of the Year'.

He posted a clip featuring the three actors, captioning it, "7 years ago I made a film and a family.....a family I can proudly call my own... I look back at SOTY with abundant love in my heart."

Karan penned a lengthy message about how the three actors have bestowed love and affection upon him over the years.

"Thank you, Aliaa Bhatt, for being my daughter ...for your infectious love and your large heart...for just being YOU! Thank you, Varun Dhawan, for being there for me always ...for having my back and calling me at odd hours to tell me what "not to do"...for your pure heart...I love you! Thank you, Sidharth Malhotra, for your compassion and sensitivity for also being the silent strong energy in my life....for giving me a shoulder whenever I needed a good cry! Love you! Love you three to the moon and back!! #7yearsofSOTY," he continued the post.

The '2 States' actor also shared a message to mark the seventh anniversary of 'Student of the Year'.

"#StudentOfTheYear was the best school, teachers & friends anyone can wish for. Thank you for a magical start#7YearsOfStudentOfTheYear @karanjohar @apoorvamehta18 @DharmaMovies @Varun_dvn @SidMalhotra #SOTY," she tweeted.

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Karan launched the three actors in the film about love and friendship. In the flick, Varun essayed the role of a rich bully while Sidharth was shown to be confident, hardworking, and perfect in almost everything. Alia played the role of a spoilt rich girl, who was actually a love-struck student who valued relationships above all.

The three actors have come a long way since then and have delivered some great performances.

Karan also recently produced a sequel of the film featuring Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria and Ananya Pandey. The movie directed by Punit Malhotra had an average run and made a total of Rs. 38.83 crore in its opening weekend.