Saiyaara proves star kids don't need hype, just a good film and a killer soundtrack

The Print

5 days ago

The film relied on one star—the music. Suri, known for his films Zeher (2005), Woh Lamhe (2006), and Aashiqui 2 (2013), has let his films' music do the talking. Each of these films had a breakout song that pushed the film to audiences. Be it ' Woh Lamhe' from Zeher to ' Kya Mujhe Pyar Hai' of Woh Lamhe and ' Tum Hi Ho' from Aashiqui 2 , Suri's films capture the mood of heartbreak like no other in their album. The star-crossed lovers, the looming tragedy, and the music have all been done before by Suri. Gen Z has now succumbed to what was millennial 'poison'.
The film's unprecedented opening even had Ajay Devgn scramble to postpone the release of his film Son of Sardaar 2 from 25 July to 1 August.
Mohit Suri's Saiyaara is a lesson in successfully launching new actors. The film did not hold press conferences, 'exclusive' interviews, or have its lead pair jet-setting across cities to interact with crowds. Instead, it opted for radio silence. It banked on the release alone. The movie had a box office opening of Rs 21.5 crore , and has now crossed the 100-crore mark before completing the first week of its release. Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda stole the thunder when it came to making a memorable big-screen debut.
Learning from others' mistakes
While most star kids were launched with an overdose of PR appearances, from doing a hook step of their movie's title track to being part of creators' videos, Saiyaara's lead cast was conspicuous through their absence from social media. The PR team clearly decided to learn from others' mistakes.
Ahaan Panday had a blink-and-miss appearance in his sister Alanna's wedding and was absent from her Prime Video show, The Tribe (2024). In contrast, his cousin Ananya Panday was everywhere before and during her debut in Student of the Year 2 (2019). Her social media already had a massive follower count, and she was seen rubbing shoulders with the who's who of Bollywood.
More recently, massive social media hype was built before Ibrahim Ali Khan made his debut with Nadaaniyan (2025). In 2023, content related to The Archies (2023) was all anyone could spot on social media before it launched Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor, and Agastya Nanda. Both films not only failed spectacularly, but also inspired memes that were more memorable than their debuts.
Junaid Khan, whose debut film Maharaj (2024) failed to make much impact except for a court case filed against it, tried the PR hype with his romantic film Loveyapa (2025) with Khushi Kapoor.
After their respective disastrous debuts, both Kapoor and Khan were given a makeover of sorts and went on every conceivable platform doing the hook step of the film's title track. What it actually led to was a slew of parody videos, making fun of how uncomfortable the duo looked selling their film to audiences.
When placed in this context, Ahaan and Aneet appeared refreshingly unknown, and made an impact as the characters they play—the 'troubled' rockstar and his demure, writer girlfriend. People have sobbed, whistled, and clapped to the two actors' performances in packed theatres.
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Rise of new icons
The PR machinery started its work after the movie's release. Ahaan and Aneet are being given the monikers of national crush and heartthrob. Reviews may say they need to do more work on their craft, but they are Gen Z icons already. Social media posts with Aneet's old ads to clips of Ahaan at some family function, and childhood photos are circulating online, adding fuel to the box office dominance.
The only pre-release hype was when Suri went on to say in an interview that Saiyaara was originally meant to be Aashiqui 3, the sequel to his hit tearjerker Aashiqui 2.
The title song did the rest of the work as Irshad Kamil's songwriting made its way into Instagram, and broken-hearted lovers used it as their audio for both reels and posts. Soon, the trailer was released and the audience had fallen hook, line, and sinker. The packed theatres were inevitable.
It really is less is more at play, and other PR teams should take detailed notes.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)