Saiyaara Movie Review: Mohit Suri Tries To Recreate Aashiqui Magic With Ahaan Panday Starrer, But Misses The Mark

Mohit Suri’s Saiyaara has been grabbing headlines for its record-breaking advance bookings. Here’s an honest review of the Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda starrer.

(Source: Movie poster)

Cast: Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda, Varun Badola, Rajesh Kumar, Alam Khan
Director: Mohit Suri
Language: Hindi
Rating: 3/5

From the internet to headlines, there has been only one Friday release that Bollywood buffs have been waiting for- all in the hope of seeing another 'Aashiqui 2'.

Without giving away any spoilers, the Mohit Suri directorial featuring Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda can be described as a classic Bollywood rom-com. The story revolves around Krish Kapoor (Ahaan Panday) and Vani Batra (Aneet Padda).

Saiyaara Plot

Saiyaara is the love story of two broken souls with heavy pasts, destined to heal each other. Ahaan Panday plays the role of a struggling singer with anger and smoking issues (think of a mix between Jordan and Kabir Singh), while Aneet Padda plays a fragile, innocent journalist who finds joy in writing.

Ahaan Panday surprises with a mature performance and emotes his layered character well. Bound by his past, Krish ,an artist craves money more than meaning, until love changes him. He begins to live in the present. Aneet plays her character with grace on screen and proves she’s a promising actor in several scenes. 

The chemistry between the leads develops naturally, and they fall for each other’s wounds more than their perfections. Everything seems to be going well in their love story until one day, Padda’s character is diagnosed with a health issue.

While Ahaan and Aneet have both done a good job in bringing Mohit Suri’s vision to life, the performances of Varun Badola as Krish’s father, along with Rajesh Kumar and Alam Khan, are truly commendable. The story isn’t packed with highs and lows, but emotions drives the story. 

The music is soulful, and the title track - the one that stands out ties the narrative together beautifully.

The story follows the classic “strangers to lovers to strangers and then back to lovers” trope. The first half leaves you invested, but one complaint viewers may have is that the second half becomes heavily predictable. Mohit Suri falls short of making the storyline completely seat-grabbing.

Is Saiyaara worth the hype?

While one might see what the hype is about, if you’re expecting something different or uniquely plotted, this might not be for you. But if you’re in the mood for a film that makes you question whether it’s love or obsession or if it’s truly possible to leave everything behind just to stand beside your partner, a rare act in today’s world  or simply want to escape and enjoy a classic Bollywood romance, this one might just be for you.

In this movie, the protagonists are battling to stay together even as life keeps pulling them apart.

While many have called it the next Aashiqui or Rockstar, the film unfortunately doesn’t come close to either.