Mohit Suri may have directed one of the most successful romantic films in recent memory with Saiyaara, but he’s a self-proclaimed fan of another filmmaker. Suri recently expressed his admiration of Sandeep Reddy Vanga, best known for helming Arjun Reddy (2017), its Hindi remake Kabir Singh (2019), and most recently, Ranbir Kapoor-starrer 2023 blockbuster Animal.
Suri took to social media on Thursday and shared a note of gratitude for Vanga. “Sandeep, @imvangasandeep thank you for being the first one to openly support and express your generous belief in Saiyaara. It meant the world coming from a filmmaker whose craft I deeply admire. I’ve always respected the raw emotion, fearlessness and intensity you bring to your stories. It reminds me why we do what we do to move people, to connect. Grateful to walk this path alongside storytellers like you. Here’s to more powerful cinema and always a fan,” wrote the filmmaker.
On July 9, Sandeep Reddy Vanga had shared the Saiyaara trailer on social media along with the caption, “Witnessing a hindi heartland love story completely emphasizing on romance and drama. Waiting to watch it on the first day. Wishing the debutants all the very best 🙂 It’s purely Mohith suri’s Magic.” Mohit Suri had replied in the comments section of the post, writing “Thank you so much sir ! Means a lot #saiyaara.”
Saiyaara is an intense love story of a young couple, played by Ahaan Panday, who makes his acting debut, and Aneet Padda, known for featuring in web series Big Girls Don’t Cry and the Kajol-starrer Salaam Venky. The movie is backed by Aditya Chopra’s Yash Raj Films. The romance also stars Geeta Agarwal, Rajesh Kumar, Varun Badola and Shaad Randhawa in key roles.
The film has breached Rs 150 crore mark at the domestic box office within six days of release. It earned Rs 22 crore on Wednesday, which took its box office score to Rs 155.75 crore.
Saiyaara’s impressive opening weekend run of Rs 84 crore at the box office has beat lifetime collection of other debuts of star kids like Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan’s Student of the Year (2012) and Jahnvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khattar’s Dhadak (2018), which earned Rs 70 crore and Rs 73 crore, respectively.
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It is also Mohit Suri’s highest opening film — Ek Villain earned Rs 16 crore on day one, Aashiqui 2 made over Rs 6 crore, and Murder 2 earned almost Rs 7 crore on the first day of their release. The film is the first and only romance movie to gross over Rs 100 crore in its opening weekend. Yash Raj Films have requested exhibitors to not hike ticket prices in order to keep them accessible for the youth supporting the film.
