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How Mohit Suri's 'Saiyaara' Became an Unmissable Event in India: Why Is Gen-Z Crying To Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda's Romance?
Ahaan Panday-Aneet Padda's 'Saiyaara' is scripting box-office history, but something amusing is happening inside cinema halls: the Gen-Z is crying.
When Sanam Teri Kasam was re-released earlier this year, a young Instagram influencer in Bihar made an unusual request to the cinema hall manager. While his peers were snapping up the best seats—with an especially fast-filling corner section—he opted for a solitary spot in the first row. Why? He had acquired the exact wine glass Harshvardhan Rane smashes in the film with his hand and wanted to recreate the scene, capturing it all on camera with his friend's help.
Today, similar passionate reactions—of varying degrees—are unfolding in cinemas playing Mohit Suri's Saiyaara, where a humble romantic feature has transformed into an unmissable event film.
"None of this should be surprising," exhibitor Vishek Chauhan, who runs Roopbani Cinema in Purnia, Bihar, tells THR India. "This generation, the Gen-Z, can't live without sharing their life. They don't just want to watch a film; if they love it, they want to tell the world they're watching it and loving it. Simply put, they want to own their experiences."
Saiyaara smashed all industry projections when it released last weekend, setting new box-office records almost every day since its Friday opening. While the reviews have been largely positive, it is the overwhelming, amusing, passionate and hilarious audience responses from inside the cinema halls that have now gone viral.
In one video, as soon as the ear-worm Saiyaara title track starts playing, a man removes his shirt and sprints towards the screen, then drops to the floor, consumed by the emotions of the Ahaan Panday-Aneet Padda film. In other instances, a boy is filmed "fainting" in his seat as the credits roll, with his friends splashing water on his face (and others filming it). Then, there are the criers—countless videos of boys and girls and couples, sobbing uncontrollably after the film.
"The Internet can call this cringe and dismiss it, but you need to know three realities," a top marketing source tells THR India, "Number one, has the film landed? Big time. Second, could some of the reactions be over the top? Maybe. Third, do those people filming it or intending to do so care about your judgment? Absolutely not."
The reactions, even the milder ones of couples dancing to the title track, have successfully generated viral buzz on social media, which has created a massive sense of FOMO, explains another executive.
Chauhan, whose cinema hall has had all morning shows dominated by the Gen-Z audience, says it's important to understand why this is happening, rather than cynically dismissing it as a "marketing stunt".
"Gen Z are the first digital natives, they grew up with smartphones. DDLJ was the romance for those who grew up in the '90s. Rockstar was for the generation after. But what do the young ones have today? The content on OTT is edgy but simple, and big-screen romances have nearly faded. Which is why when they are watching a Saiyaara, which is such a quintessential Hindi film by the beat, they are surprised. It's something they haven't seen before. This is exactly what had happened with a Sanam Teri Kasam as well," he says.
What has also greatly helped is the fact that the film is headlined by newcomers, with whom the audience, including those constantly glued to the Internet, didn't have any association. Nobody knew (or knows) what Ahaan and Aneet eat for lunch, the salad they order, the coffee they sip; their personal life, their private opinions are all secrets.
"Which is why it works, because when a common man is watching them, they don't have any preconceived opinions and hence the 'relatability' increases. Ahaan and Aneet are not 'stars' living in Mumbai; for the larger audience, they are next-door kids dealing with love and loss the way anyone their age would," explains a source.
Sure, some of the reactions coming in from the cinemas can be dubbed a bit too theatrical and staged, something which Chauhan says could also be unfolding as "copycat" influencers dive into the trend to make quick money by either participating in it or by dissing it through more videos. But the larger learning from this shouldn't be lost, the exhibitor says.
"There's a whole influencer economy at play. People are making videos every day because it's trending, but there's also genuine emotion. You have to embrace it, not resist it. This is the generation we have to cater to now since they're driving the box-office. They can find all the information in an app, but the thing is, you can never Chat-GPT emotions."