Saiyaara: Decoding the craze behind Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda-starrer Mohit Suri film and what its massive success means for Bollywood | Opinion

In a rather disappointing year for Bollywood till now, even after the release of films headlined by superstars Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Akshay Kumar, nobody expected a romantic drama led by two debutants to become a mammoth success in its first weekend itself. Saiyaara, starring Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, hit the theatres quietly on July 18. The film saw no heavy promotions and no promotional events across India, except for a few interviews from its director Mohit Suri. The two leads - Ahaan and Aneet - were kept completely under wraps. The team relied on the music to do the talking with the songs, especially the sensational title track, generating good buzz before the release. But, neither the industry experts nor the trade pundits could have expected what transpired on its opening day.

Saiyaara smashing box office records

Saiyaara scored the biggest opening ever for a film led by debutants as it clocked Rs 21.50 crore in India on its first day of release. The previous record was held by Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter-starrer Dhadak, that had opened at Rs 8.76 crore in 2018. By Sunday, the Mohit Suri directorial had the biggest opening weekend for a romantic film in India. It had minted Rs 83.25 crore net in India, surpassing Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani-starrer Kabir Singh's record of earning Rs 70 crore in its first three days. The Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda-starrer sold the highest opening day tickets for a film with debutants in 25 years after Hrithik Roshan, Ameesha Patel's Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai and Abhishek Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor's Refugee in 2000. It became the biggest opening film for Mohit Suri, beating Ek Villain's opening day of Rs 16.50 crore. Saiyaara is also on its way to defeat the lifetime earnings of major releases of the year, including Salman Khan's Sikandar, Aamir Khan's Sitaare Zameen Par, Ajay Devgn's Raid 2, and Akshay Kumar's Kesari Chapter 2 and Sky Force, in its opening week itself.

What clicked for Saiyaara?

The success of Saiyaara can be attributed to several factors, coming in together at the right time. Mohit Suri has made some good films in the past, including Zeher, Murder 2, and Aashiqui 2, but Aditya Chopra's vision helped him to make a wholesome film. Saiyaara marks the first collaboration between Mohit Suri and Yash Raj Films. While some of the debutants in the recent past have let down with their performances, Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda are much superior in their first film. Their terrific chemistry is one of the major highlights of the film. Also, a Mohit Suri film is always associated with good music. While Saiyaara may not be his best soundtrack, the delightful songs are integrated well into the screenplay. The title track has now become a rage and has turned theatres into concerts venues. Also, it's been a while since a well-made romantic film came that broke the hearts of the audiences and healed them too, and Saiyaara does that perfectly. 

Saiyaara's success teaches an important lesson to Bollywood

The massive success of Saiyaara is a stark reminder for the Hindi film industry to go back to its basics and make good stories with conviction. In the post-pandemic world, we have largely seen propaganda films and hypermasculine action films dominating the box office. Saiyaara comes in like a breath of fresh air for the industry. The craze behind the film, led by two good debutants who know how to act, also means that the audiences are now bored with seeing the 60-year-old stars romancing with the heroines 30 years younger than them. With some experts writing obituary for Bollywood after every three months, Saiyaara reminds them that people would keep coming back to the theatres to watch their stories and dreams come alive on the big screen.