Mumbai, July 27
After a long dry spell, Bollywood has two overnight stars with Aneet Padda and Ahaan Panday as their debut film ‘Saiyaara’ continues to be a rage at the box-office. While there have been speculations around Aneet’s next project being a streaming release leading to significant buzz and talks about Aneet being commissioned for an OTT project even after delivering one of the biggest hits in recent times.
However, there’s a twist in the story. While it’s true that her next project is a streaming title, the other side of the story is that the show was shot before ‘Saiyaara’, and was already in pipeline, but the scheduling of the projects shifted the timelines of release, and ‘Saiyaara’ got released first.
Aneet’s next streaming project, titled ‘Nyaya’, is directed by Nitya Mehra and her husband Karan Kapadia. ‘Nyaya’ was shot before Aneet signed ‘Saiyaara’.
A trade source said, “Aneet is a big screen heroine for YRF. Nyaya was shot before she signed ‘Saiyaara’ and it has no bearing on her career trajectory as a theatrical heroine going forward. A girl who is delivering probably a INR 400 crore hit in theatres, is a true Gen Z star at the age of just 22, will be preserved for theatricalsâ€.
“There are huge plans to make her the face of a generation and that can be achieved only by consolidating her theatrical equityâ€, the source added.
‘Saiyaara’ has emerged as a surprise hit during a phase when nothing seems to be working for Bollywood at the box-office. The film starring two debutants opened at an impressive figure of INR 21.5 crore in India. The film is set to enter its second week in theatres on Monday, and is going strong at the box-office maintaining its streak of collections.
With ‘Saiyaara’, director Mohit Suri has achieved something, which seemed impossible till recently. He resurrected Bollywood at the box-office, resurrected the soul of the modern classic Bollywood music, given two stars, and proved that love stories are eternal for the Indian subcontinent. As per industry tracker, the film has so far collected INR 326 crore worldwide.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Interesting how the shooting timelines got mixed up! Shows how unpredictable the film industry can be. But 326 crore worldwide for a debut is just wow! Makes me hopeful for Bollywood again after so many flops.
As much as I loved Saiyaara, I hope Nyaya gives Aneet more scope to perform. Theatrical success is great but OTT shows allow actors to show more depth. Excited to see her range!
Mohit Suri deserves credit for spotting these fresh faces. After so many star kids failing, it's refreshing to see actual talent getting recognition. The music was chef's kiss 👌
While I'm happy for Aneet's success, I hope YRF doesn't overexpose her. Too many projects too soon ruined many promising careers. Slow and steady wins the race!
400 crore for a debut is unbelievable! Shows that content is king after all. The industry was so busy making remakes and sequels that they forgot what made Bollywood special in the first place.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.