Saiyaara Box Office: Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda leagues ahead of other star kids due to Mohit Suri?

Saiyaara’s box office advances have again shown us that Bollywood audiences are still in love with stories of raw passionate tumultuous pyaar, ishq aur mohabbat. As per estimates, Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda’s movie will open in the range of Rs 15-20 crores at the Indian box office. This is astounding for a movie starring newcomers. Reports are coming in of extra shows being added after midnight in some centres, and how single screen cinema halls are almost full in tier one and tier two cities. Trade experts and fans are also wondering what did the trick for the movie? Was it the soulful title track, or the angst-laden trailer featuring Gen-Z faces?

India Forums had a chat with trade expert and film exhibitor Akkshaye Rathie to get a better picture. “From the advances, I will go with the figure of Rs 15 crores. If the word of mouth is good, it can go up significantly, maybe even more than Rs 20 crores,” he said. The demand is being driven by non-metro cities and semi-urban centres. While there was some consensus on Ahaan Panday coming as a competent performer, Rathie believes the king-maker is Mohit Suri. “No one thought highly about Shraddha Kapoor or Aditya Roy Kapur before Aashiqui 2, but Mohit Suri’s story-telling and music made it a blockbuster. Saiyaara has managed to establish itself as the spiritual successor of Aashiqui 2. The music, the flashbacks, the rage, Saiyaara has all the elements of that film,” he opines.

Saiyaara has managed to establish itself as the spiritual successor of Aashiqui 2. The music, the flashbacks, the rage, Saiyaara has all the elements of that film.

- Film Exhibitor Akkshaye Rathie on Saiyaara

He also said that it was the trailer that changed the optics and perception of Saiyaara. People began to imagine it as the Aashiqui2 of this generation. “This is a rare event. At the most, people would have expected Saiyaara to open at Rs 4 to 5 crores but to see it inch towards Rs 15 – 20 crores before release day is unheard of. This is the power of a well-cut trailer,” says Rathie. He reiterated that big names do not matter when the music and narrative looks tailored for the big screen.

Well, stars are made in cinema halls. An OTT project only exposes debutants to opinions. When you debut on the big screen, you can fight opinions with the box office numbers of your movie. It is the objective barometer.

- Akkshaye Rathie on Mohit Suri's launch for the debutants

There was huge hype around Khushi Kapoor, Ibrahim Ali Khan, Suhana Khan but all took the OTT route to debut. “Well, stars are made in cinema halls. An OTT project only exposes debutants to opinions. When you debut on the big screen, you can fight opinions with the box office numbers of your movie. It is the objective barometer. Saying that, all story-tellers are not skilled in making films for 70 mm. They just do not have the vision to show realism with a touch of magic and elevated emotions. The directors who possess these qualities make stars in Bollywood. You need to present debutants like stars for the big screen and Mohit seems to have done it with flair in Saiyaara,” he said. In the movie, Ahaan Panday plays the role of Krish Kapoor while Aneet Padda is Vaani, a girl who dreams of being a song-writer.