Key Points

The romantic flick directed by 'Aashiqui 2' fame director Mohit Suri and produced under the banner of Yash Raj Films stars debutant Aneet Padda and Ahaan Panday, the cousin of Ananya Panday.

Initially expected to be a semi-hit, this romantic film led by debutants exceeded the expectations of cinemagoers and film trade experts when it surpassed an estimated Rs 400 crore at the worldwide box office.

Komal Nahta compared the popularity of the film with Hrithik Roshan's debut superhit movie 'Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai, which took the box office by storm in 2000.

In an interview with ANI, Nahta said, "It (Saiyaara) is one of the finest films to have come out of Bollywood in recent times. In the last, probably, 20-25 years, I can say that I have not seen a similar kind of craze as it is for Saiyaara. The last time we witnessed this type of euphoria was at the release of 'Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai', which was Hrithik Roshan and Amisha Patel's launchpad."

Nahta further shared the reasoning for the immense popularity. He believes that the makers struck the right chord with the first teaser of the film, which was fueled by the periodic release of songs.

The film expert believes that a huge opening of 'Saiyaara' was inevitable.

"I think they had hit the nail on the head right from the first teaser. The first teaser came out and took the nation by storm, swept the youngsters off their feet because the hero and the heroine both looked so wonderful and so compatible. And then they started releasing one song after another. Each song was a musical delight. And the picturisation was extraordinary. So people actually started making up their minds that we have to see this film. Come what may, we have to see this film. And then the trailer of the film came out. I think that sealed everything. That was the final proof that this film is going to get a fantastic opening; it was done and decided."

However, that was just the halfway point for the film to reach the zenith of success at the Indian box office. What mattered was for the film to live up to the expectations of the viewers, which it undoubtedly did, as per the Rs 400 crore box office collection of the movie.

"Then ofcourse, when the film was released, I think it more than lived up to the expectations. The expectations had reached sky high because of fantastic music, fantastic song picturizations, wonderful boy and girl, and lovely chemistry. The expectations were sky high, and it's not easy to live up to those expectations. But because the film had such merits, such wonderful merits, it lived up to those expectations, it surpassed those expectations, and the results are for all to see," said Komal Nahta.

Saiyaara has been creating a buzz in the industry not only for its giant box office collection but also because of the reactions of viewers in the theatres after watching the film.

Videos on various social media platforms shared by fans showed people inconsolably weeping after watching the film in theatres.

Some were also seen dancing in the theatres with happiness. As the reactions went viral, many media reports referred to it as post-promotion of the film, calling it inorganic and fake.

Nahta, however, said everything in the film is organic and admitted he too sobbed after watching the film in theatres.

"Everything is organic. I mean, all you need to do is go to the cinema hall and see for yourself. You don't ask Chat GPT and Grok to comment whether Saiyaara is actually a hit or it is an orchestrated hit by YRF or Aditya Chopra or the powers that be. I mean, how idiotic is that? All you need to do is buy tickets for eight cinemas or six cinemas in your city," said Nahta in an interview with ANI.

When asked where the popular reactions were inorganic or fake, the film expert added, "Could be, could not be. I'm not sure. I'll talk for myself. You know me. You know my honesty and integrity. I went to the hall. In some six or seven scenes, I cried."

Saiyara has earned over Rs 404 crore at the box office as announced by Yash Raj Films on their Instagram handle. It has also surpassed the lifetime collection of Shahid Kapoor's 'Kabir Singh' and has emerged as the highest-grossing romantic Hindi film in India.

- ANI