Saiyaara stars Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda became overnight stars after the blockbuster film’s release at the theatres. In a recent interview, the movie’s director Mohit Suri opened up about casting Ahaan as Krish Kapoor. He recalled that the actor shared his old ‘bad audition’ videos with him on the last day of shoot. The director also revealed that Ahaan Panday was supposed to be launched earlier, but it didn’t work out eventually.
During a conversation with Zoom, Mohit shared that he initially felt that Ahaan was too ‘well-mannered’ for the role. “There was no convincing, no one had to push me to cast him or anything. His name was suggested by a senior filmmaker, saying that he is your Krish Kapoor, he is good. You should meet him, he is loud and boisterous. But, I met a very timid, soft spoken, and well-mannered boy. I felt like this is not what I wanted. What I want is an ill-mannered, brash boy,” he said.
“Suddenly, I realised that he was seeing Mohit Suri, the director of Aashiqui. So, I had to take him out for dinner. That’s what Adi sir saw and said that after that ‘if you still don’t think he’s there, then reject’. I actually went to reject him and said that stop calling me sir, call me Mohit. He took it to another step by making me bro. When I went out and hung with him at night, I found Krish Kapoor in Ahaan. I found the brash, ill-mannered, good-hearted guy,” the director added.
ALSO READ | Saiyaara star Ahaan Panday’s nephew River is his biggest cheerleader: ‘Krish Kapoor is my best friend’
He further joked and recalled that the actor shared his old videos with him, asking how he cast him in Saiyaara. “After the last day of shoot got over, he sent me all his bad auditions and asked me, ‘Tell me something bro, how did you cast this boy?’ If I had seen those auditions, I would have probably not cast him. He was doing every over-the-top dialogue possible. He knows he isn’t good in them, he was just purposely sending me those videos. I said that you are a fraud, and some swear words,” Mohit shared.
He continued, “I haven’t tapped half of what he is capable of, to be honest. He can dance, he is funny. He has got a whole other side of him which I am sure some other director will tap into and bring it out to the world that he has prepared for.”
Ahaan Panday is the nephew of actor Chunky Panday, hence the cousin of actress Ananya Panday. When asked about his film family background, Mohit Suri replied, “It is a family that has been in films, but I think Ananya has been able to go just beyond of what her father has achieved and that’s a great achievement by her. I think she is doing very well by herself. And, Ahaan was supposed to be launched before, and his thing didn’t work out. His father wasn’t into films, so I don’t see this as a privileged background thing. He has assisted with 2-3 directors, has already been in the business since seven years.”
Story continues below this ad
Meanwhile, Saiyaara is set to cross the Rs 300 crore mark at the box office soon. The film has received positive reviews from the audience and critics.
