Key Points

Mohit Suri explains his deliberate choice to cast fresh faces Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda in Saiyaara to capture youthful first-love authenticity. The director reveals the film's soundtrack contains melodies he collected over five years, including a title track introducing Kashmiri musicians. Suri emphasizes how working with newcomers keeps his filmmaking contemporary and relevant. Saiyaara marks the Bollywood debut of Ananya Panday's cousin Ahaan Panday.

Key Points: Mohit Suri Explains Casting Ahaan Panday Aneet Padda in Saiyaara

  • Suri wanted newcomers to authentically portray first love
  • Film features 5-year-curated soulful melodies
  • Title track introduces Kashmiri artists Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami
  • Ahaan Panday (Ananya's cousin) makes Bollywood debut
4 min read

We needed youngsters: Mohit Suri on why he decided to cast Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda in 'Saiyaara'

Director Mohit Suri reveals why he chose fresh faces Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda for his romantic film Saiyaara, calling them essential for first-love story authenticity.

"I believe fresh talent keeps me relevant - their vision and style update my storytelling - Mohit Suri"

Mumbai, July 10

Director Mohit Suri shared how he conceived the idea for his film 'Saiyaara' and shared his working experience with actors Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda.

In a conversation with ANI, he said, "I always felt that when you listen to a romantic dhun, usually, or any other dhun, it always takes you back to a moment, whether it is the first rain, first love, first meeting, friendship or anything else. I think that music, love, and memories are connected to each other. I found this idea very intriguing. I told my assistant, Sankalp Sadanah, who is a very capable boy. I discussed this idea and said I think this can be made into a movie. He wrote this story..."

Known for films like 'EK Villian' and 'Aashiqui 2', Mohit Suri shared how the casting for the film happened and why he decided to take fresh faces for his project. "Us waqt jab hum likh rahe the hume pata tha hume youngsters chahiye kyunki ye pehle pyar ki baat thi..(At that time, when we were writing, we knew that we needed youngsters for this because we are talking about first love)..But at that time, we didn't have a producer, studio or an actor. We just knew that we had to make this story. I think we don't make films, they are made by themselves. "

On featuring Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda in the film, he added, "This is not my first experience working with newcomers. Be it actors or musicians or music directors, I have launched someone or the other in every film. I don't give a chance to fresh people in fact I believe that they keep me relevant and fresh. They are doing their work, but I try to learn from them....Classically, emotions are the same but when you work with fresh talent, their vision, way of speaking, their style keeps you relevant."

Earlier, Suri revealed that 'Saiyaara' album consists of songs and melodies that he has "carefully collected and curated for over five years.

"One thing that only a handful of close friends know about me is that I love meeting new composers, singers, collecting melodies and songs, much like people who love reading collect books.So, the album of Saiyaara has my songs, thoughts, and melodies, which I have carefully collected and curated for over five years," said Mohit Suri as per the press note by the makers.

Mohit said that he wanted to give audiences a supremely fresh album with beautiful, soulful melodies for 'Saiyaara'.

He added, "I wanted to make an extremely fresh romantic album for a debutant film. The album of Saiyaara is very close to my heart. So, every song of this album feels really special. We are starting our marketing campaign by dropping the Saiyaara title track first. There is so much love, longing and heart in this song that I fell in love with it instantly."

'Saiyaara's title track also features the launch of two exciting musical artists from Kashmir.

Mohit revealed, "Saiyaara title track will also see us launch Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami, two extremely talented Indian composers and singers (from Kashmir) to Bollywood. The track has been composed by the genius Tanishk Bagchi, who I thank for making me meet Faheem and Arslan. The beautiful lyrics are written by the maestro Irshad Kamil."

'Saiyaara' introduces Ahaan Panday, the cousin of Ananya Panday. It is produced by the company's CEO, Akshaye Widhani, and it is set to release on July 18, 2025, in theatres worldwide.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
Another star kid getting launched...when will we see real talent from outside film families? Though I must say Mohit Suri's music choices are always on point. The Kashmir angle is interesting.
A
Aman W
Mohit Suri's films have soulful music always! Remember Aashiqui 2 songs? Still play them. Hope Saiyaara gives us similar evergreen melodies. The title track teaser was beautiful ❤️
S
Shreya B
First love stories never get old! As someone who grew up on Mohit's romantic films, I'm excited. Though I wish he'd cast some fresh faces who aren't industry kids. But let's see how Ahaan performs!
V
Varun X
The music better be good because the plot sounds like every other Bollywood romance. Mohit sir, we need something new in storytelling too, not just fresh faces!
N
Nisha Z
Love that he's introducing Kashmiri artists! 🎶 Our country has so much untapped musical talent beyond Mumbai. Hope this becomes a trend. Also curious about Aneet Padda - new female leads are always welcome!
K
Karan T
Mohit Suri understands youth romance like no other director. His films make you feel

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