Mohit Suri’s Saiyaara, starring actors Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, is being called ‘modern day DDLJ’ by the director. The film that didn’t have a lot of buzz before its release, suddenly became the film that forced makers of Son of Sardaar 2 and Param Sundari to push their release dates. It opened at Rs 21.5 crore and earned Rs 266 crore India net in just 12 days of its release–defeating box office numbers of several recent releases starring OG stars like Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn. And the man who wrote this record-breaking film is Sankalp Sadanah. While many know him as the assistant director of Mohit Suri, did you know he is the son of filmmaker Vijay Sadanah and nephew of Brij Sadanah? The same man who shot his wife, daughter, and son before killing himself.
About 35 years ago, filmmaker Brij Sadanah, suffering from depression, killed his actor wife Sayeeda Khan, their daughter and son Kamal Sadanah. It was Kamal’s 20th birthday and he was the only survivor as the bullet shot at him didn’t cause him severe damage.
In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Kamal Sadanah shared, “I was also shot, I had a bullet go through one side of my neck and come out on the other side of my neck and I survived it. There’s no logical reason for me to survive. It’s almost as if the bullet dodged every nerve and came out on the other side. And I survived without any physical problems. It went through my neck. There’s a reason why I survived it. Let me move ahead and let me find that reason, let me live well.”
He marked his Bollywood debut opposite Kajol in Bekhudi, two years after the incident.
Saiyaara writer Sankalp Sadanah is the cousin of Kamal Sadanah. After assisting Mohit Suri in his films like Half Girlfriend, Malang, and Ek Villain Returns, he finally got an opportunity to write a film for the director.
In an interview with Komal Nahta, Mohit Suri shared, “I was working on a different film with a big star. But, we were waiting for the dates. I didn’t want to wait for the dates. During that period, I wanted to write a young love story. My assistant, who had worked with me in four-five of my films since Half Girlfriend, and had an aptitude to write–Sankalp Sadanah. I asked him, ‘Will you write this film with me?’ He is a 29-year-old boy. I thought if I will filter my story through his eyes, I will be able to connect with the story. He just got married, he has his own childhood story about love. We sat and we wrote.”
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After writing the story, Mohit approached a couple of established actors to cast in the film. However, it was Sankalp who suggested that they should introduce new faces. The decision was backed by none other than Aditya Chopra.
Mohit shared, “When I went to meet Adi sir, I had already spoken to about 2-3 actors for the film. And, all of them were ready to do it with me. Because after COVID, it was all about safety and pre-sales. However, while leaving for Adi’s office, Sankalp turned around and said, ‘Sir, if they say for newcomers, don’t say no.’ He said, ‘Sir, I think this film is right for newcomers.’ I said, ‘Even I think that is right but Sankalp do you want to make this film or not?’”
Mohit explained, “We put in so much into this film. They have liked it at YRF. He said, ‘Okay’. But, when I met Aditya Chopra, he asked me ‘who do you want to cast?’ He shared with me that ‘the cast you are suggesting… my distributing and marketing team will be happy. But, let me tell you, you will make a flop film if you will make it with established actors.’”
And that’s how they cast Ahaan Panday, who was associated with YRF talent for the last seven years and had been continuously doing workshops there.
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In the same interview, Mohit Suri credited Sankalp for not letting him give up on the film. He shared, “There was a time when I didn’t want to make the film. I thought the time is not right. But, this man kept motivating me to make it. Sankalp said, ‘this film was different.’ He is the son of Vijay Sadanah, who directed the film Pyar Jhukta Nahin. He is from the Brij Sadanah family. He never speaks about them or throws their name anywhere. In the film, he is not just the writer, but also assistant. He put up with my tantrums, he never gave up on the film. He was there with me until the last frame. He played every role–writer, assistant, best friend. I am lucky that I had him in this film.”
