Aneet Padda asked Saiyaara director Mohit Suri for advice after her ‘Mujhe sharam aa rahi' video went viral: ‘I was feeling shy…'

Indian Express

2 days ago

Debutants Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda have garnered immense praise for their debut film Saiyaara. The actors who are facing so much attention and limelight now, recently, a video of Aneet Padda went viral on social media. In the video, the actress was spotted at the airport where the paparazzi were photographing her. In an awkward moment, Aneet very politely asked them to stop and said, 'Mujhe sharam aa rahi hai (I am feeling shy).' She also refused to remove her face mask, which led to some negative reactions on social media.
Now, in a recent podcast with Zoom TV, the film's director, Mohit Suri, shared his opinion on Aneet's reaction. He also shared why Ahaan and Aneet were intentionally kept away from media interactions and other promotions during Saiyaara.
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Reacting to Aneet's viral video, Mohit Suri said, 'The only thing I always told Aneet was to be honest, I said you are perfect as you are, and there is no right thing to say. When she had asked me if I wanted to tell them I was feeling shy? I said 'say it'. We have become a generation that is supposed to have the answers. What's wrong with being vulnerable? She went there, and when they were clicking, she said 'mujhe sharam aa rahi hai', and I think it was the most honest thing to be, rather than pretend to be what you are not.'
He further added, 'We have all been told to pretend and told to wear these clothes and costumes when we go to catch a flight or to the gym. I told her to be who she is. We have tried to be honest all through this film; people think the viral videos in the theaters were created, but we have not done that.'
Mohit also explained that he and the team at YRF consciously chose to keep Ahaan and Aneet away from media interactions and in-person promotions before Saiyaara released. 'I wanted Aneet and Ahaan to be judged for their art and not for their personal lives. Yashraj also had the same belief, so we backed them with a trailer, a song, so that they had the arm, other than people judging them on their hairstyle, clothes. They are artist, they are supposed to act, emote, not supposed to dress well and be fashionable,' Mohit Suri shared.
Stating that he has just 'scratched the surface' with Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, Mohit also revealed that he doesn't want them to cry in their next film. He said, 'There is a lighter side to Aneet and Ahaan, which was not there in Saiyaara at all. The first thing I told them was to go out and laugh, have fun, and stop playing these mature parts. Don't you dare cry, Aneet, in your next film; even Ahaan can dance, do action, and more. I just brought them into the world, now they are going to fly.'
On the work front, Aneet Padda will be seen in Nitya Mehra's courtroom drama Nyaya, which also stars Fatima Sana Shaikh and Arjun Mathur in important roles. The show produced by Applause Entertainment will be streamed on a major OTT platform; details on the same are yet to be disclosed.