EXCLUSIVE: “Their First Impression Was Bakwaas” – Saiyaara Director Mohit Suri Spills The Tea On Casting Ahaan Panday & Aneet Padda!
Saiyaara might be breaking box office records right now, but director Mohit Suri says the journey didn’t begin with applause for his Gen-Z lead pair, Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda. In fact, he straight-up called their first impressions bakwaas.
EXCLUSIVE: “Their First Impression Was Bakwaas” — Saiyaara Director Mohit Suri Spills The Tea On Casting Ahaan Panday & Aneet Padda!
“Their 1st impression was bakwaas,” Mohit admitted in a no-holds-barred chat. “But I want to tell every newcomer out there, don’t lose hope when your first impression with someone is not good. Because Ahaan and Aneet both had bad first impressions.”
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When Aditya Chopra himself recommended Ahaan Panday for the lead role in Saiyaara, Suri was… confused.
“Adi Sir told me about Ahaan and said he will be your hero and I said ‘where?‘ Ahaan was like this sweet, docile kind of character who came to meet me in my office. And I was like what is this? What did they see in him that is so mad and insane?”
It wasn’t until Ahaan thought he had blown the audition that he truly let go, and that’s when Mohit Suri finally saw the spark he’d been looking for. Later that night, over drinks and dinner, Ahaan ended up standing on the bar, completely uninhibited, and that’s the moment Suri knew he had found his hero.
EXCLUSIVE: “Give Her Another Chance” – How Ahaan Panday Convinced Mohit Suri To Cast Aneet Padda In Saiyaara
Aneet Padda didn’t exactly hit it out of the park either… at first. She walked into Mohit Suri’s office in full glam mode.
“She came in a yellow dress and blow-dried hair. First thing I said to her was: what are you wearing?”
Yikes. Not ideal. But here’s where things get interesting… it was Ahaan who stepped in and convinced Suri to give her another shot.
“Ahaan tried to distract me. He was the one who told me ‘give her another chance. I’m telling you she’s good, I’m telling you she’s good, I’ve done a scene with her’.”
And Mohit did. But with a small condition- drop the performance, drop the pretense.
“I call up Aneet and I said, ‘You know, you guys have a problem. Y’all are thinking I like something. Please come in what you think you are.’”
So she did. Aneet returned the next day in a white loose shirt and jeans; no glam, no styling, just her raw, natural self.
“And I was like this is it.”
And just like that, the cast of Saiyaara was locked. Sometimes, first impressions really are the worst but that doesn’t mean they’re the final word.
Today, Ahaan and Aneet are not only winning hearts but also setting the box office on fire. And somewhere behind that success story is a director who almost said no… but didn’t.
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