Mohit Suri on ‘Saiyaara’ Success, Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda and Ranbir Kapoor | Director’s Cut

Variety India’s latest Director’s Cut features filmmaker Mohit Suri, who breaks down the success of ‘Saiyaara’ and mounting a romance film with two newcomers, Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda. He speaks about his relationship with YRF and Aditya Chopra, and how it led to casting Ahaan Panday. Suri also talks about bringing back the romance genre, film budgets and shift timings on sets and the conviction he seeks in his scripts over big budgets and superstars. He sheds light on the speculation around Ranbir Kapoor being in his next project, too. Chapters 0:00 — 'I genuinely want to work with Ranbir Kapoor' 0:40 — Welcome to Variety India — celebrating ‘Saiyaara’s’ success1:07 — 'You brought romance back with a bang' — validation after years 1:30 — Senior filmmakers said he was 'wasting his time' on a love story 2:34 — Meeting Adi Chopra: 'I've been looking for a love story for years' 3:39 — 'Thank you for letting me make this film — I feel liberated' 5:28 — Staying authentic vs making a 'project' out of a film 6:48 — 'What worked last year was authenticity, not sequels' 7:49 — Budget constraints on ‘Saiyaara’: '60 days, no airport, that's it' 10:00 — The creative one-shot travel sequence born from limitations 10:34 — Discovering Ahaan Panday: rejected him 3 times, then cast him 11:46 — The dinner where Ahaan stopped pretending and became Krish Kapoor 13:49 — Aneet vs Ahaan: who gets more love from fans? 14:15 — 'Even Shah Rukh Khan told me this is the best thing I did' 14:23 — 'Actors don't need to be public speakers at 22' 17:05 — Watching films in theatres: 'I go for every film, I buy tickets' 19:18 — 'Films don't fail, budgets fail' — Rajkumar Hirani's wisdom 22:51 — Adi Chopra called ‘Saiyaara’ a 'tentpole film' after the first cut 23:54 — Turned down ■500 crore offers: 'If I don't have the script, I won't do it' 26:33 — 8-hour work debate: 'Emraan Hashmi shot 24 HOURS with me' 27:28 — 'Think about the unit, not the actor's beauty sleep' 29:26 — Why he never repeats hit pairs: 'You can't beat Aashiqui with the same cast' 30:35 — Inspiration vs copying: 'Everything I do is inspired — I'm not a sage' 34:35 — Audience fainting at Sara screenings: organic or marketing? 36:03 — Adi Chopra gave him independence: 'Work your way, find yourself' 37:24 — Producer said 'don't cut below 2h 45m — this film will do 100 crores' 38:37 — 'We don't need big budgets — we need producers with big hearts' 41:32 — Ranbir Kapoor: 'He has the depth my films need — there's great intent' 42:37 — Currently writing his next script and letting it breathe #MohitSuri #Saiyaara #Bollywood #AhaanPanday #AneetPadda #AdiChopra #VarietyIndia#RanbirKapoor #Aashiqui2 #EmraanHashmi #ContentIsKing #Exclusive VIDEO CREDIT Editor-in-Chief: Sarita A Tanwar Group Publisher: Gautam Thakker Managing Editor: Tushar Joshi Executive Producer: Pooja Thakker Video Production: Everymedia Technologies Creative Director: Abhijit Vedpaathak Photographer: Ninad Redkar Videographer: Amit Gogavle & Ninad Redkar Video Post-Production: Everymedia technologies Pvt Ltd Creative Supervisor: Dominic Rego Editor: Vatsal Doshi Location Courtesy: Bayroute, Juhu VARIETY INDIA — Exclusive Interviews Subscribe:    / @varietyindia   Article: https://variety.com/2025/film/news/mo... Follow: @varietyindia #MohitSuri #Saiyaara #Bollywood #AdiChopra #VarietyIndia #AhaanPanday #AneetPadda #RanbirKapoor #Aashiqui2 #EmraanHashmi #ContentIsKing #Exclusive